The Bridge Of Silence
by bleedingxinxspace
Summary: Summary: On the day of the birth of Karin & Hitsugaya's child, news arrives that he's gone missing on a mission to Hueco Mundo when his zanpaktou and a letter are retrieved. Full summary inside. Rating changed for bad language...no lemons.
1. Missing

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the Bleach characters, only I am able to afford a copy of the manga.

**Summary:** On the day of the birth of Karin & Hitsugaya's child, news arrives that he's gone missing on a mission to Hueco Mundo when his zanpaktou and a letter are retrieved from Hueco Mundo. Karin though does not believe as such along with her family, but fights the rumours of Soul Society about Hitsugaya being considered a criminal and a traitor, and must face the fact that she would be raising their only child alone.

* * *

**The Bridge Of Silence**

+--+

+Missing+

The voices drowned out the noises of whatever was running in her head, but the pain was nothing compared to anything at all. Kurosaki Karin breathed heavily as the nurses were telling her on doing so, but it was not helping the situation. Plus, she was amazed at how her family had managed to call forth some members of the 4th squad.

"I am giving birth to a child, not trying to calm my nerves!" She shrieked, screaming again as she pushed harder once again for the last time.

Giving birth was something that had been out of her mind--no her entire life. Sadly, that was not the case as she had screwed up only nine months previously. It had been a mistake at first, the thought of being pregnant was completely absurd and stupid, but slowly Karin understood that it wasn't time to regret it at all. Her screw up had happen and there was no turning back on it, even if she wanted to.

"Congratulations Kurosaki-san, it's a healthy baby boy." The shinigami held out the tiny baby. Her eyes stared at the baby, his white hair was visible just like his father's, and there was no doubt about the striking resemblance. "His reiatsu is at good levels, so you shouldn't concern yourself over that."

"Thank you." Karin's eyes held tears, slowly she embraced her newly born child in her arms and smiled.

It had been a hard nine months, dealing with a lot of drama and constant whispers amongst the neighbourhood and other random people. Karin hated it though, it wasn't like it was anyone's business on intruding on her private life because it wasn't like she could actually reveal the fact that her family was actually shinigamis like herself, or talk about Soul Society. The overall idea would only end up being consider a joke, but it was nothing to joke about at all at the moment.

"How are you?" Ichigo, her older brother asked as he took his seat.

"I feel like hell." Karin sighed, still unable to get into the idea that she was a mother. "I'm sorry." Suddenly she began to cry.

Ichigo rushed to her side and hugged her tightly, trying hard to understand the reason why she was so upset, even if he knew the real reason but didn't want to voice it out.

"Its alright Karin…its alright." Ichigo hadn't known what to say after being told that her young sister was pregnant, but he didn't get angry. She was strong and would get through it, even if she wouldn't be able to see him.

"I miss him Ichi-nii." Karin cried, holding onto her brother close.

It had been many years since the last time she cried, it had been a promise made in order to not allow weakness to overrule her heart all, but at the moment it no longer mattered. A human needed to feel emotions in order to be called a human, and because they were also part of living.

Only a little after being told she was pregnant, her fiancé had been called back to Soul Society during their visit, but hadn't returned for over the time span. Karin was alone, even if she had her father, young sister, and Ichigo along with his wife Rukia. No, she had been in need of Hitsugaya Toshiro to be there for her, and now he needed to be there for his son.

"Karin, he'll be back." Ichigo tried hard to comfort her, but it was impossible because just earlier he had gotten the message that Toshiro had gone missing.

"I want him here." Her voice was muffled as her face was buried on his shoulder. "I want him to return here to see his son."

Soul Society, even after the war against Aizen, had gone into some drastic change and was a little bit complicated sometimes to deal with. Ichigo had been made a captain, though it had taken nearly five years to get done with the deal, but he was now leading the 9th division. Now it had been about ten years since that critical time, except that now things were going a little bit more into the complicated style for Soul Society. Suddenly wars had broken out in Hueco Mundo, and Soul Society sent aid for Nell, who had refused to go to Soul Society and stayed to watch out in Hueco Mundo.

Hitsugaya Toshiro, captain of the 10th division had been sent to Hueco Mundo for a mission before even knowing that he was going to be a father. Ichigo felt hurt by seeing his young sister suffer, after promising to not see her in pain, but now he sat there more disappointed on himself then ever before. _You better come back Toshiro, or else if I don't find you dead I'll kill you myself._

Karin was subdued to a sleep in order to allow her to get her energies back, it had been a little complicated to deliver the baby, and plus the stress wasn't doing too well for her body.

Ichigo watched her sleep soundly, but she looked troubled still with the scowl on her face. He felt a hand on his shoulder, he turned to see his father.

"What's up?" The orange head asked, while closing the door.

"Its no good Ichigo, Urahara says that they have found his zanpaktou only." Isshin held a grim expression about him. "He's been gone for almost ten months now, and its most likely that he would be declared dead a while later. I'm sorry."

The usual goofy father held a very saddened expression, not only because he felt extremely sad about his daughter, but at the fact that his new grandson would not have a father at all.

"So, they didn't found a trace?" Ichigo tried his best to think of possibilities of Toshiro being alive somewhere.

"No, Youirichi went there herself along with Byakuya, but they didn't find anything." Isshin informed, pulling out a paper from his pants. "They also found this letter."

Ichigo's eyes widened, the paper was stained with blood.

_Karin,_

_I am sorry to disappoint you on leaving like that, not even did I imagined to have detected that, but I found out only today. Unohana-taicho informed me about the fact that you were with child, I really didn't know what to think at first. You probably are scared to death right now, mainly due to the fact that you are the one who is carrying it and not me. That's not the point here, the point is that I am rather disappointed with myself because I won't be there for you because of this mission, but I am stuck between a conflict. Again, I wished I could kiss you and tell you how happy it makes me, and to know that soon you'll have our child. There's so much I want to say except that I am unable to say it properly, there's not enough words to express the joy that is buried in my heart at the moment. I love you Kurosaki Karin, no matter what. Maybe this mission won't take long, so until then take care of yourself and our child._

_Love always,_

_Hitsugaya Toshiro_

"He knew?" Ichigo couldn't believe it.

"Yeah, he knew after I informed Unohana-taicho about it." His father sat on a chair and ran a hand through his hair. "I shouldn't have let him go like that."

"What do you mean?" The orange head was confused by what his father was saying.

Isshin buried his face on his hands to clear his mind, it was nearly impossible to explain the fact that he was given his old post back as a captain. It was harder then ever imagined now, before it had been easy, but with the Aizen problem everything became complicated.

"I told Yama-jii to send me instead of Hitsugaya," He began. "I knew about Karin's pregnancy the night he left, but I just didn't know what to do at the moment. You know how Yama-jii is about the whole thing, so I volunteer myself but he declined. The old guy said I needed to stay to stabilized the 3rd division, but I just wasn't strong enough to stand up. I failed my own daughter."

"You didn't fail her otosan." Yuzu, Karin's twin appeared. "No one did, don't blame yourself."

Yuzu had become a beautiful young woman, one who willingly became a shinigami and was sent to Soul Society. Everyone thought of her as being a weakly at first, but everyone after finding out that she was actually a Kurosaki, suddenly their opinions changed because she had joined the elite 13th division and was along the ranks of a vice-captain.

"Yuzu, my greatest daughter! So loving--" Isshin was caught off by a punch from Ichigo.

Isshin had a very eccentric personality, and he was quick on changing character depending on the mood of something; which was actually annoying to Ichigo in the first place.

"Mou, Ichi-nii!" Yuzu expressed, taking a seat besides her father and looking at the closed door. "How is she?"

"She'll make it, but she's hurting in a deeper level." Ichigo informed, while his father was unable as he was trying hard to stop the bleeding of his nose.

"I heard about it from Ukitake-taicho, not good news as everyone expected." The golden haired young woman said, wrapping her arms around herself. "Rangiku-chan has been on the 4th division since she was found, and she's been crying herself out."

The entire Gotei 13 knew about the relationship, Matsumoto Rangiku treated her captain like a younger brother despite of the fact that she often didn't obey him much, but she respected him well for his accomplishments. She had been the first to find out about Karin's pregnancy, the first to squeal over it in the entire 10th division quarters, but she was the first one to really see how happy the young captain had been that day.

"How's Karin?" Rukia arrived at last, followed by her oldest son Kazuki and younger daughter Amaya.

"The delivery was a bit complicated, but I think she'll be alright." The orange head answered, as he hugged his children dearly. "Things don't look too well Rukia, so we'll return to Soul Society tomorrow."

The dark haired shinigami stared at her husband, the expression on his face looked like the same when he had heard about his missing friend many years ago. He looked completely defeated, even if it hadn't been his problem. Rukia sighed and hugged her husband, trying hard to understand why everything was going into the wrong direction.

"Otosan, will she be okay?" Amaya asked, while staring at her sleeping aunt from the small window of the door.

"Yes, only her heart is the only thing that will take a little longer to heal completely." Ichigo answered, trying hard not to think about Karin's pain.

"You believe in her so much?" Kazuki looked over at his father and smiled.

"Of course, she's my sister after all." His father ruffled his orange locks and wrapped his arm around his son. "And, she's stronger then you'll ever know.

The Kurosaki family sat there, completely lost in confusion about the current situation, while most of those closer to them back in Soul Society were also aware of the situation. No one wanted to think about one of their most elite shinigamis being dead, but also thinking about the fact that he was never allowed to lead a peaceful life at all.

All shinigamis believed that Hitsugaya Toshiro had earned the right to live freely, without having to care much about wars or anything, but simply putting his mind on his fiancée and start a family. The problem though was there was never a time to really heal, understand, and dealing with everything that had taken place; which it only made it more complicated to comprehend fully.

"Toshiro." Karin whispered as she stared out the moonlight of her room. "I will not be weak and I'll wait for you." Her resolve was made, and she was going to demonstrate that she was not weak or in need of protection from others.

It was too much of very complicated situation, but there was now a new child to take care of and worry about giving him a full life. Karin had to be strong now for her son, her heart would never forget it, but it was better to not be so sadden because there was no proof that he was dead or anything; only a small bit of hope was alive in her heart.

Closing her eyes, she fell asleep hoping for him to return soon.

+--+

* * *

_My first ever Hitsugaya/Karin fic. There had been many ideas thrown out, but neither really managed to make it. Like it? Review. Hate it? Well that's alright. Don't flame it though. I'll try my hardest to stay in character with all of them. This story is in progress, so it will not be updated daily or anything; even if I tried. More pairings will be revealed as the story progresses. The name for the child will be revealed on the next chapter, I hope._

_Also, I did not feel like making Yuzu appear as a weak girl who needed rescue all the time, and she is not a vice-captain at all. Karin is not weak either, I have other plans for her in Soul Society. I feel like Yuzu and Karin are both strong on their own ways, as everyone says, 'looks can be deceiving'. _

**The names of the children that Ichigo and Rukia have; according to the websites I searched are as followed:**

_Amaya- Night Rain_

_Kazuki- First of a generation, pleasant peace, or shinning one. _


	2. Dead

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or the characters. I do not believe that my pocket change will make that possible at all.

**Summary:** On the day of the birth of Karin & Hitsugaya's child, news arrives that he's gone missing on a mission to Hueco Mundo when his zanpaktou and a letter are retrieved from Hueco Mundo. Karin though does not believe as such along with her family, but fights the rumours of Soul Society about Hitsugaya being considered a criminal and a traitor, and must face the fact that she would be raising their only child alone.

* * *

**The Bridge Of Silence**

+--+

+Dead+

"_What are you doing?" Kurosaki Ichigo looked down at the white haired captain bowing. _

"_I come to seek permission to marry your sister." He looked up, those ocean green eyes burning intensely with so much determination. The orange head sighed, unable to really do anything now that his sister was 18. _

"_I'm not my father you know. Besides, I thought you hated her." He furrowed his brow. _

_Hitsugaya didn't hate her, maybe it was another story because they bickered constantly about __**other**__ problems. He adored her to say the least, even if sometimes they couldn't agree in many things. _

"_Kurosaki, just answer the damn question." He stated icily, obviously he was in no mood for stalling or any other kind of crap the new ninth squad captain would throw at him. _

_Ichigo didn't know what to really say, it surprised him. They hated each other, loved each other…did they ever decide on a clear point to it? Sighing for what seemed the nth time in the day, he scratched his spiky orange hair--it was way too absurd to waste the entire morning on that. _

"_I suppose." He waved his hand lazily, while going back to signing those damn papers. The silence grew between the two, only the scratching of the calligraphy pen and brush managed to interrupt the wavering silence. _

"_Was that a yes or what?" The white haired shinigami muttered thru his gritted teeth. _

"_Yes, is that clear?" Ichigo wasn't having patience, therefore he stood up abruptly nearly knocking the bottle of ink on his desk. "I have other matters to attend to, you know the way out, Toshiro." He knew that his future brother-in-law hated that. _

"_Its Hitsugaya-taichou to you!" He grumbled, as he stood up. _

+--+

"Karin, ready?" Isshin asked, as the Senkaimon was open for Soul Society.

The black haired girl sighed, shifting uncomfortably on her spot as the small baby on her hands giggled at the sight of the Hell butterfly. "Yeah." She mumbled, while trying hard not to think about what awaited her.

"Wait, before you go," Her father stopped her, and handed her an envelope. "…open it when you get to the division. Take care and take care of Tatsuya."

Karin smiled lightly at her father and huddle her baby closer, and the enveloped on her shinigami robes.

"Bye Oyaji!" She waved, as she stepped thru the gate and onto Soul Society.

The gate closed, Isshin sighed for the nth time while Urahara appeared out of no where, hiding behind his famous fan.

"Seems that young Kurosaki Karin is not looking down." The mysterious man commented, while hiding his expression. "You don't seem so concern after hearing the news just two days ago. And, when are you going to return to Soul Society?"

"She'll be alright Kisuke…she'll be alright." The other shinigami smiled. "She still doesn't know, but I fear somewhat when she does. I'll go back when I think its right, besides they don't need me much at the moment." He walked off, leaving the former captain in a slight confused daze.

Soul Society looked the same, blue sky with scattered clouds around--peaceful. The people greeted Karin as she walked about the tenth squad barracks, they nodded and allowed her to pass to the tenth squad taichou's office. Karin held her baby still, allowing him to look around at the mysterious place in which normally his father (whom he did not know) doing paper work as always.

"Tatsuya, this is where your father works." She whispered to the baby, not wanting to disturb the peacefulness in the room. "He'll be back soon, take care of the paper work. Scowling at the mistakes he'll find, and here to take care of you." She didn't want to cry. Fighting the forming tears back, the lump on her throat was tighter then ever, but she wouldn't cry.

Tatsuya simply blinked at her, reaching his small hand out for her to grab. The new mother smiled at the baby, tugging lightly on his little hand as he giggled. _You are a replica of your father_, she thought while taking a seat on the couch.

The emptiness seemed new for her, usually the visits prolonged an uncertain excuse just to see Toshiro and have a couple of make-out sessions. Kissing him senseless, allowing her to become so heated and wanting him right there and then. It didn't matter if people walked in during their heated kisses, mainly because everyone had become accustomed to the new found relationship.

Ninth squad's new third seat, Kurosaki Karin and tenth squad Hitsugaya-taichou. There was nothing wrong with it, though speculations never died down despite the seven year relationship that was no secret. She had been thankful that her brother hadn't killed him when the ninth squad captain walked in on them. It was a comical sight to say the least.

"_Karin?" Ichigo slid the door shut. She scowled at that as she jumped off from Toshiro and fixed her robes. _

"_We are screwed." The icy captain muttered, while fixing his own robe. _

"_Ichigo!" Karin opened the door and saw him stand there, completely shocked. "I don't care what you or everyone else says. Its my life and you, along with everyone else, is not allowed to interfere…got it?"_

_He stood there, looking at his young sister's determined eyes. Something told him that they were together, but not that far into the relationship. Ichigo hadn't cared though, it reminded him slightly of his relationship with Rukia, that little demon shinigami. _

"_I wasn't going to comment on that." He grumbled, scratching his head. "I only came here to hand him a paper that got delivered to my squad. And, I really don't care Karin about it." She stood there surprised. Kurosaki Ichigo wasn't pissed at all, or angry at the fact that she was about to have sex with the white haired captain. _

"_You…you aren't mad?" She asked, quickly regaining her composure. _

_The orange haired captain shook his head. "Not a bit." He opened the door again. "Yo, Toshiro! Oh, and please don't do stuff like that in the office. Or, try a silent proof kidou spell at least." The very last part made her frown.  
_

"_Its Hitsugaya-taicho!" She heard her lover grumble loudly. _

Karin smiled at that little memory. Except that a few days later, Kurosaki Ichigo nearly tried to kill his brother-in-law to be because of it. She remembered that it was a test to see if he was worthy of taking care of her, as if the answer wasn't obvious.

Hitsugaya couldn't beat him on the first day…third…fifth. No, it was until their tenth meeting that he was finally able to defeat the unbelievable strong shinigami. That day was a very rewarding day for him, which was Karin's passion for a single day.

"Karin-chan!?" A voice pulled her out of her reverie. The black haired girl looked up to see Matsumoto-fukutaichou looking solemn and as if she had been crying.

"Rangiku-chan." Karin stood up, holding her son still.

The strawberry blond shinigami fell to her knees and resumed her tearful session again. Karin didn't know what was going on at all, but she knew that there was something wrong. Quickly, she rushed over to her and put her hand over her shoulder.

"What's the matter?" The edge of her voice couldn't be hidden.

The older shinigami looked up at her. "He's…he's…" She couldn't. She just couldn't say it because it would hurt too much.

"What?" Karin could not help her worry. Matsumoto looked battle worn.

A few shinigamis appeared behind her, they seemed to be from the fourth squad.

"Matsumoto-fukutaichou." One of them spoke. "You shouldn't have left like that, please come back." Another one attempted to pull her up, but the woman refused.

"NO!" She shrieked, pushing them all away. "I don't want to return to that room anymore."

Karin was just so confused, but Tatsuya began to cry.

"Shh…I am sorry." She said. "I would appreciate if you just let her be."

"Hai!" The four said in unison and disappeared.

Something felt wrong, and Karin was well aware of it. Tatsuya stopped crying suddenly, allowing the peacefulness to return to the place again, only the muffled cries of Matsumoto managed to squeeze thru the echoing silence.

"What's going on?" The fearless shinigami asked, getting tired of the strange façade that everyone seemed to be putting around her.

"I shouldn't…" The voluptuous shinigami shook her head, wiping her tears away. "Did you not get the letter?" Her voice was shaky still, but she managed to compose herself as she looked at the baby on Karin's arms.

"Letter?" Karin mumbled, remembering what her father had given her. "Oh, you mean…" She didn't finish her sentence as Matsumoto motioned to be allowed to carry Tatsuya. "Sorry, here."

Matsumoto smiled at the tiny baby that looked so much like her captain, but tried not to cry. She watched as Karin pulled out the letter of some envelope. Her eyes widened at the blood stains, it couldn't be true.

"W…" Her mouthed moved, but it seemed her voice box had suddenly been turned off. Quickly, Karin unfolded the paper and begun reading.

_Karin,_

_I am sorry to disappoint you on leaving like that, not even did I imagined to have detected that, but I found out only today. Unohana-taichou informed me about the fact that you were with child, I really didn't know what to think at first. You probably are scared to death right now, mainly due to the fact that you are the one who is carrying it and not me. That's not the point here, the point is that I am rather disappointed with myself because I won't be there for you because of this mission, but I am stuck between a conflict. Again, I wished I could kiss you and tell you how happy it makes me, and to know that soon you'll have our child. There's so much I want to say except that I am unable to say it properly, there's not enough words to express the joy that is buried in my heart at the moment. I love you Kurosaki Karin, no matter what. Maybe this mission won't take long, so until then take care of yourself and our child._

_Love always,_

_Hitsugaya Toshiro_

Shock over took her, as Ichigo suddenly appeared along with his wife Rukia. Karin looked at them, unable to understand the meaning to the letter at all, until Ichigo pulled out Hitsugaya's zanpaktou. It was unbearable, shocking, and completely unattainable to really process in her brain. A gasp escaped her lips, she then realized what it truly meant.

"No…no…" She shook her head. "No…its…that's a lie." Ichigo shook his head, while Matsumoto and Rukia lowered their heads. "Oh God…ah…" Karin dropped the letter and put her hand on her stomach, trying to not cry out loud.

"I couldn't tell you earlier." His voice sounded low, unlike his usual self when he was going to give bad news of some other type. He watched her tremble, tears slowly forming in her eyes…the pain being painted on her young face. "Karin…"

Ichigo caught her as she nearly fell to the floor. That lump that had been there loosen suddenly, making her cry in agony at the loss. She didn't want to though, and she shouldn't. That was not the case at the moment, it felt as if everything had been ripped away slowly. His last kiss, his last taste, his smell…everything about him had suddenly vanished.

"NO!" She screamed, allowing herself to show a weaker side of herself. "Why!? Why! Toshiro!" She held onto Ichigo's robes tightly, looking as if she was about to rip them apart due to her pain.

Her nails dug on his flesh, but he ignored the pain as he held his sister tightly.

The entire 10th squad had known already, but only hearing the Captain's fiancée scream in pain made it all too real. The loss, the pain…everything that came with the unknown was too much for anyone to really handle. Rukia covered her mouth as she tried not to cry, it was a horrid sight at the moment, and she wanted to leave. That was impossible, mainly because it was Kurosaki Karin who had lost so much over the past ten years.

"I am sorry, Karin." Ichigo expressed, still holding her. "I'm sorry for not telling you and for not protecting you."

Matsumoto could no longer cry, every single drop of tears no longer seemed to exist in her body anymore. It was clear that she shouldn't cry anymore, her captain wouldn't be too proud if she saw his fukutaicho showing weak emotions.

The sight was unbearable as Rukia vanished from sight, unable to really handle the pain that showed on the young new mother's face. While Matsumoto could only stare at the sight, without having the power to stop the pain at all, but also feeling shame about the fact that she was unable to bring her captain back with her. Also, as she looked back down at the giggling child, she wondered about what would happen now that the young child was without a father.

"Is he really dead…Ichi-nii?" Karin's voice was weak, dry without any emotion left on her tone.

Ichigo exhaled lightly, explaining was something he really didn't want to do at the moment. "No one knows." He stared at the sinking sun out of the window of the tenth squad's office. "There's no trace of his reiatsu anywhere in Hueco Mundo."

Karin stared at the unknown, a million of things running in her head at once--not a very wise decision to think at all. No, it was not time to mourn because there was no proof that Toshiro was actually dead. She didn't want to believe, and neither was she going to allow others to think so as well.

"I don't believe it." Karin stood up and brushed her shinigami robes. "I need to get back to my living quarters right now."

Ichigo didn't say anything as he watched his young sister disappear along with his nephew. He stared at Matsumoto, who stood there simply gazing at the empty office.

"She believes in him so much." Her voice came clear. "I should be like her right now. I must believe that taichou is out there fighting to stay alive, and wanting to return to see Karin-chan and Tatsuya-kun."

He sighed and managed a smile on his face. "It's a Kurosaki trait that we are often reminded by our father. We don't believe in giving up after letting out whatever emotions we feel at the moment. So, I think it is better to believe that he's out there." He patted the woman's shoulder. "Don't worry Rangiku, just think that he's out there somewhere like Karin is doing right now."

Her blue eyes gazed at the amber ones, they held so much determination that she was a little jealous at the fact that the Kurosaki children could be so strong. A small smile of hope appeared on her face. "Hai, Kurosaki-taichou." Matsumoto knew that he hated being called that.

"Ugh, not that Kurosaki-taichou crap again." He scowled as he walked off back to his division.

+--+

"Is she really going to be alright?" Hisagi Shuuhei asked, while grasping Yuzu's hand.

"I like to think so, we are Kurosaki children after all." She smiled, while she watched his twin coming towards the ninth squad barracks. "She has stronger faith then any of us. While all of us think Hitsugaya-taichou is dead, she manages to believe in him and think so otherwise."

Yuzu stood there wondering if it was really alright for Karin to feel like that, then again her sister never really put so much faith on other people. Karin had very strong beliefs, something that Yuzu was amazed and intrigued by it.

"She's far too strong, sometimes I wonder if I'll lose my post because of her." The dark haired shinigami looked at Yuzu.

"I wouldn't know about that." She wrapped her arms around his waist. "At first I thought she would join the 11th squad. Zaraki-taichou surely is a scary man, and it seems like the type of squad she would be in."

"I'm not that scary." Karin opened the door to the office, and smiled at the couple. "I don't think it would be proper to have my child grow up around those men. Shuuhei, get your filthy hands away from my sister."

Despite the fact that Yuzu had found someone to really put her interest in, Karin didn't really like the fact that Hisagi was a former womanizing shinigami. Perhaps she doubted if his adoration for her sister was really genuine, then again many things in Soul Society never failed to amaze her.

"Kurosaki!" Hisagi glared at the testy Kurosaki. "Haven't I worked for nearly three years to prove my worth?" He was completely annoyed by the fact that a lower rank shinigami bossed him around, but he was slightly afraid of her because he didn't want his taichou to beat him up.

"Yeah, you have. Except that I don't buy it." She shrugged, while her child giggled again.

"What's his name?" He asked, despite of really wanting to form a bond with her.

"Hitsugaya-Kurosaki Tatsuya." Karin replied, while trying hard not to be influenced by the older man's tricks. Yuzu decided not to interfere with the fact that her sister and boyfriend were fighting, again, about useless matters.

"I have to go." She suddenly said. "I'll drop by later to see Tatsuya." She waved and walked out of the room.

Silence soon fell, only the cooing of the baby broke the silence between the two shinigamis. Hisagi maintained a level head on himself, specially in case Kurosaki-taichou were to step in and find them arguing about Yuzu. Ichigo wasn't lenient with her at all though, Hisagi knew well after having being nearly sliced by a powerful Getsuga Tensho.

"Want to hold him?" Karin gave in, even if in the future he was to become her brother-in-law.

Willingly, the tattooed face man lifted the child off her hands and saw the resemblence of the tenth squad's captain. He was a sucker for cute things oddly enough, despite his usual calm self, but he had to admit that the child was unnaturally adorable.

Karin stared at the sight, she smiled in spite of herself because she had to admit that he was really nice. Maybe, just maybe she would start to cut him some slack.

"I thought you were so interested on Rangiku-chan?" She asked, while trying to clarify the fact that all male shinigami who were single were obviously obsessed with the very beautiful woman.

He looked up and frowned, not really wanting to be reminded of the fact that he indeed had a crush on her.

"Did." He muttered. "I don't think she's really interested in me in the first place. I've known that for a while now, since it seemed she had an adoration towards Ichimaru. I can't replace him, nor do I want to be used as a replacement. She moved on, I moved on--it's a happy world now."

Happy? She thought for a second on the ideal of a happy world. Everyone would be there, her mother, her father, her brother and his wife, Yuzu and maybe Hisgai as well. The only person that seemed missing on her happiness was Hitsugaya. No, he was alive somewhere out there and she needed to stay at that mind set.

"I suppose." She stared at the fading sunset. Stars began to appear. "It seems…reasonable. I think."

He frowned, not really understanding what she meant at all. There were a lot of things that he didn't understand, after all, he still hadn't grasped the idea as to why his former captain had betrayed Soul Society.

"You think? That's good." He chuckled lightly, carefully choosing his words around her. Hisagi was aware of the situation regarding Hitsugaya-taichou, but he was still unknown as to what to think about him.

"Here, I need to go and get some rest." Karin held her arms out for Tatsuya. He gladly handed the child to her. "Do you think he's out there?" He cocked his head a little, her back was against him.

"I wouldn't know about that. He should be, if he has hope and the will to continue living." Hisagi answered to his best.

"I see." She muttered and slid the door open. "Keep trying Shuuhei, and maybe you'll have my approval along with Ichi-nii's." He watched her walk off.

No sadness seemed to appear on her face, only sheer determination and belief about Hitsugaya being alive seemed present. Perhaps things would be better this way to think, and believe as well.

+--+

* * *

_This was chapter two everyone, thanks for reading. My thanks goes to **Sonata Ann**, **rose-of-alabaster**, **Kida Ookami** and **ChevalierAirumel** for reviewing and alerting, also to **Moon of Jupiter** for alerting. I hope this was not such a bad chapter at all, mainly because there was a lot to say. I decided to pair Yuzu with Hisagi because I usually read her being paired up with either Jinta or Hanatarou. Though Hisagi doesn't really look like the type of guy that would be paired with Yuzu, but I am only seeing how this works out. Anyways, the name for the child took a while to think about because I had gone thru an entire list of names; in the end though **Tatsuya **seemed like a very fitting name because I liked it; according to websites I have searched it means 'become dragon (and possess its wisdom and longevity).' If you know an other meaning let me know, or I'll just leave it like that. Also, Karin and Yuzu's ages haven't been made clear, but they are around 21 so hopefully no one got confused on that part.  
_

_Everything is still on the works, meaning that I have to do some extensive research in order to find a proper name for Karin's zanpaktou along with Yuzu's. Just to clarify, Karin is third seat in the ninth squad, and Yuzu is...I can't reveal that yet at the moment. I am also doing the little flashback scenes in order to add some Hitsugaya/Karin moments, since at the moment he's missing. I promise that hopefully in chapter 4 or 5 he'll come back 'cause I have other details to really write down. I hope it wasn't too OOC, but I tried my best not to go off. Also, I think there was some slight confusion from last chapter about Karin thinking that Hitsugaya was dead but she only assumed that he was, she was only thinking deeply into it. Like it? Review. Hate it? That's alright. _


	3. Hope and Jealousy

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or characters. My birthday wish wouldn't be sufficient enough to be able to.

**Summary:** On the day of the birth of Karin & Hitsugaya's child, news arrives that he's gone missing on a mission to Hueco Mundo when his zanpaktou and a letter are retrieved from Hueco Mundo. Karin though does not believe as such along with her family, but fights the rumours of Soul Society about Hitsugaya being considered a criminal and a traitor, and must face the fact that she would be raising their only child alone.

* * *

**The Bridge Of Silence**

+--+

+Hope and Jealousy+

"_You seem a little--strange lately." Karin commented, as she covered her chest with the bed sheet. "Is something wrong?" Toshiro wasn't being himself lately, for various reasons he couldn't possibly explain at all, but at the moment he felt a ranging surge of jealousy sipping in every inch of his body._

_He groaned inwardly, trying hard not to suddenly burst out with just random things out loud, mainly because he didn't want to find out the truth to all of it. Despite the two year relationship, he felt odd about actually wanting to come to the real world just to be with her. It was all complicated, despite the fact that he loved her._

"_Its nothing." He lied, knowing well that the suspicion was eating him away in the inside. _

_Karin knew there was something wrong, after all, it wasn't normal for him to act as if he was sick of her already. She had been pushy on wanting to sleep with him, but that was nothing because he had been eager on doing so. It was hard to comprehend him. _

"_If you aren't going to tell me, then that's fine." Karin was pissed off at the fact that he didn't want to talk about whatever was bothering him. "Look Toshiro, if you are sick of whatever it is that we are doing here. How about we just put an end to it?" _

_Toshiro turned to look at her as she was putting her clothes back on, and glared. That was obviously something he wasn't willing to do, unless the rumours had been true. Then again, wasn't that all just completely stupid? He was rather annoyed at the fact that he was actually paying attention to stupid human things. _

"_End it? What are you going on about now?" He asked, running a hand on his white snowy hair. Frustration wasn't something he dealt with easily at all, especially not with Karin. "Is it true?" He was just annoyed with everything, so he got straight to the point. _

_Karin knew that question would eventually come, after all, it was almost four months since the last time she had been able to see him. Hitsugaya had come only for a couple of days due to some stupid assignment he got, but that really wasn't so hard to do at all. Plus, she didn't get why he suddenly paid attention to some stupid things being said at school. _

_The rumour had started as soon as school began, something about her having slept with some random college guy. She hated rumours involving her or Yuzu, only that everyone at Karakura High School loved her and hated Karin. It was all a big misunderstanding in the first place, so why didn't he really get the idea that she loved him and no one else? _

"_I told you already, did I not?" Her voice sounded cold, unmoving by the conversation they were having. She pulled her shoes on and stood up, roughly fixing her hair into a pony tail. "Its just rumours, why Soul Society doesn't have them? Oh, wait they are way too innocent to know such foul things." Hitsugaya hated her sarcasm. _

"_Shut up!" He hissed, while pulling his jeans up and zipping them up. _

"_You aren't innocent, you know that." She stood there, gazing out the window of Orihime's apartment and into the twilight. "Or, are you just pretending to be just so you don't break some stupid rules? Poor you." She felt his reiatsu go up, but she didn't care at all because she was pissed. _

"_What do you know about innocence?" He questioned, while scowling deeper. She turned to look at him, anger obviously showing on her young face, but he did not weaver by it at all. _

"_Me? Do you even want to get into that conversation?" She rushed past him and opened the door. "I am leaving. When you calm down with whatever hormonal shit you are having at the moment, come and find me." She slammed the door to indicate her point of the conversation ending. _

"_Shit." He grumbled, staring out the window and watched her figure disappear down the street. _

+--+

Karin walked about with no sense of where she was going, after all, her mind was preoccupied with other things. Life somehow seemed to be slightly robotic, controlled by an unknown being who enjoyed to cause misery--that was rather bitter.

Life only consisted of getting up, taking care of Tatsuya, working, working--there was nothing else besides working really. It was dull. Boring. Uneventful. The unnerving life it seemed, filled with nothing but emptiness since _he_ was no longer there to make it brighter. Yes, she liked to think of him as his sun--even if he despised it.

Waking up each morning to not find him sleeping by her side was impossible to deal with, and she missed him. They were going to get married as soon as spring would start, but that did not seem to be happening in the near future. The wedding was called off. No news over the past three months, nothing. She was getting desperate to know where he was, but slowly that hope was slowly fading.

There was nothing too exciting to look forward to at all, unlike other days. Walking in and out of the tenth squad barracks, had been pleasant. Now though, walking around it made her body feel heavier because she knew that even though his office would be there--Toshiro would never be there doing his work anymore. She remembered him, sitting there with a fixed frown on his young face while mumbling curses at the mistakes he would find on the papers, or yelling at Matsumoto to get some paperwork done.

Those days were livid, a dream like state of some sugar high mind set--that was rather odd. The dark haired shinigami shook her head, carefully trying hard not to feel so--empty. Three months were nothing at all, it seemed like Hitsugaya had been gone for what seemed to be a lifetime. She hated to think so coldly against the matter, but no one bothered to inform her about anything. Karin hated to feel completely useless, after all, it was she who was going to be with him for the rest of _his_ life.

"Karin?" Hinamori Momo appeared from no where. It was strange meeting her, talking to her, and having her present in front of her own eyes.

"Hinamori-_san_." Karin still had a great difficulty dealing with Hitsugaya's childhood friend.

Hinamori no longer held a post on the Gotei 13 anymore, after becoming some type of instrument for Aizen to use in the war. Karin really did not want to remember the circumstances in which Hinamori got thrown out of the fifth squad.

"H-how are you?" Her voice creaked, as if anger seemed to be swallowing the mask that the fragile shinigami had been keeping herself underneath.

"Fine." Karin's voice never failed to show the coldness that she held against Hinamori. "Everything is fine." That was lie, and she knew it.

"Oh, well that's…uh…good." Hinamori rubbed her arm nervously. "I--I wanted to congratulate you on the baby, but I never got the chance." A sneering smile spread across her pale face.

"Just cut the bullshit Hinamori." Karin looked away, as she balled her fists getting ready to pounce on her. "Tell me what is going on in that head of yours then, because you can't play the evading game you know."

Hinamori flinched at her words, Kurosaki Karin always managed to hit the spot despite the few times they ever interacted. The weak shinigami did not respond quickly, what was that she wanted to tell her? Maybe that she hated her for taking Hitsugaya away from her? No, he never belonged to her and she had seen it on those ocean green eyes. The many times Hitsugaya often had a dreamy look on his eyes, that was enough to answer the silent questions in her head.

"Its nothing." She replied, inhaling deep as she waited for a bad response from the fearless shinigami.

"Or so you say." Karin did not know where the anger was coming from. Her eyes held a very dark look, as if ready to kill something--or _someone_ with that gaze of hers.

Karin knew everything concerning Hinamori and Toshiro, after all, it had been he who told her that there was nothing going on with his childhood friend. The story was far too complicated to tell, the only thing she liked was the fact that he did not love her at all. His eyes were set only on Karin, which she was constantly reminded off when she would see him staring at her during the random moments in the day. She was his sole focal point in life, even if he had been constantly denying it.

"Third Seat Kurosaki, you're needed back in the ninth squad." A lower member of her squad interrupted the heavy atmosphere.

"I'll be there." She never tore her gaze from Hinamori at all. "Well, I am being needed." Shifting, Karin held her head high and followed the shinigami, keeping her mind from railing away.

Hinamori did not respond, simply envying the fact that it had been her who gave birth to Hitsugaya's child. He was never hers, she knew it, but why did she continued to lie to herself that someday he would return for her. Everything was a lie. Aizen had been her source of strength, but she couldn't decide on whom to give her devoted adoration to. Everything was confusing.

Karin groaned in annoyance, why did that girl manage to push her buttons without even saying much. That attitude was the thing that she disliked about Hinamori. Silent, innocent, and everything about her was like a sign of evil. She was still too vented up with anger against Hinamori for trying to act--nice. _That little bitch, how dare she!_

"Karin, there's an important meeting!" Ichigo called as she approached.

"And?" She questioned, not really in a very good mood at all. It was hard to pretend that everything was fine, when clearly everything seemed broken and missing.

"Look, I think the fifth squad found something." He looked at her, carefully noting the change of expression in her young face.

"Oh…well what did they find?" She asked, feverishly trying to think that Toshiro might be back here. Her heart was pumping so fast it felt as though it would come out of her chest.

"I--I don't know yet at the moment, that is why we have a meeting." Ichigo said, while looking around to spot his vice-captain. He put his hands on her shoulders and stared at her, gazing deeply into her dark eyes. "I know that you want to hear good news, but not everything will be a great turn of events. If I find something good, I will tell you." He kissed her forehead.

Karin nodded like a good girl and watched her brother turned around while his captain haori bellowed with the breeze, and he vanished from sight. She couldn't believe that some news had finally arrived, and without much thinking, her feet were taking her to the 13th squad barracks.

"Ah, Karin-chan!" Ukitake smiled kindly at her, while holding the young Tatsuya on his arms. "Well, as you know--"

"Yeah, sorry Ukitake-taichou for the inconvenience." She held out her hands to take back her child.

"Ah, Ichigo-san must had told you. I am so sorry, but feel free to stay here behind if you like." He walked a few steps and then disappeared, leaving Karin with a somewhat pleasant expression.

He was a pleasant man who she trusted, plus Toshiro had a great respect for the man. Karin found him to be really sheepish and silly, mainly because when they often visited him he would give them candy. She smiled as she remembered the first time she and Hitsugaya visited him.

"_Ah, Hitsugaya-taichou. Its good to see you." Ukitake smiled, while pouring tea to the guests. _

"_I apologize for my lack of not accepting the invitation sooner." The young captain said, while grabbing the small tea cup. _

_The older captain simply smiled, looking at the couple in front of him simply looking rather unlike most couples he would see. Despite the fact that it was another Kurosaki being put into this type of situation, he had to admit that Karin was really calm and rational, even if she had a rough personality. And, she managed to break the barrier in which Toshiro often hid behind. _

"_So, how are you liking being a member of Ichigo-san's squad?" He asked, while Karin tried hard to concentrate on what to really say on that matter. _

_The dark haired shinigami cocked her head to the side. "Fine." She threw him a small smile, well more like a devious one because it was impossible to really think what was going in her head. "I think that slowly I'll get used to this gig, well I got the gist of it when he mentioned it a while back. Its hard to really think sometimes about it, or how to feel. Right now, I feel great." _

_Well perhaps that seemed like a lie in way, mainly because it was a lot to process on the time being. She didn't hate the fact that she was dead--or alive that was confusing really. For now, everything seemed in place for once because she had Toshiro to support her, even if sometimes they fought. She loved him dearly. He squeezed her hand under the table. _

"_Well, its good to hear that you like it here so far." Ukitake smiled kindly at her. "Now, I must say that we are very lucky here in the 13__th__ division for having Yuzu-chan around. She is truly a very talented young woman, well even if the two of your are simply seventeen year olds." _

_Toshiro seemed a little tense at first because he did not like the fact that everyone was still against his relationship with Karin, but somehow his old mentor did not seem to put judge on them at all. He managed to form a small smile on his young face, it felt strange--very strange indeed. _

_Ukitake had been like a father to him, with the exception that sometimes he gave him candy for no reason. Well, perhaps it had been odd, but frankly it was because they shared so much in common that the young captain hadn't known at all. He respected him for so many things, after the war against Aizen, he had been there to heal his broken mentality and whatever little else he had left in him. _

_They had been difficult times, but he depended on him for everything. "Thank you, Ukitake-taichou." He said, loudly interrupting whatever conversation that his girlfriend and mentor were having. _

"_You are very much welcomed, Toshiro." Ukitake pulled out something from the sleeve of his haori. "Here, I just recently got these back from the real world. They are very good candy." Toshiro was always surprised by the candy, but never denied it for some reason. _

_Karin tried her best not to laugh, but it seemed that the interaction was peaceful between the two captains. She smiled at the sight, it seemed like a father and son picture capturing the compassion filled in their eyes, and she liked that. _

Those were pleasant days, without having to worry about other stuff that would interrupt their picturesque life at all. Tatsuya had fallen asleep in her arms as she sat there, completely ignoring the nagging feeling at the back of her head about wanting to see Hitsugaya so badly. She needed him, having him hold her still when she felt worried, or seemed anxious at the new day in her new life.

His scent, his smile, his kisses…everything that was him she needed. It wasn't the same without having him embrace her, hugging her tightly as if she would soon disappear; but now she needed him to raise their son. Tatsuya, it seemed that everything that involved him seemed far more complicated then ever being imagined. Life wasn't a planned thing at all, Karin knew that for a fact, but without Toshiro as being part of the factor of her life it felt more empty.

The sadness over took her as she begun to sob, carefully trying not to awake her baby. She wanted him, needed to feel him close to her again as the many times in the past. The barrier that he had created felt safe, not perfect really, but it was secure enough that Karin could trust it with all her might. Everyone did not understand their relationship, but she knew well that it did not matter what they would think.

"Toshiro…" She called out for him, as she slowly fell asleep.

"_Karin…" His voice seemed near, whispering into her ear. _

"_Toshiro, where are you?" She opened her eyes, seeing the blinding sunlight shinning down thru the tall tree. _

"_I am here, why do you ask?" He turned to look at her, a smile was placed in his face. "I'm not going anywhere, Karin." He stretched his hand out for her to take, but she wasn't sure. _

_He never looked that peaceful at all, it wasn't right at all. Karin loved him so dearly it hurt to stare at him. _

Karin wanted to run to him, but somehow in the back of her mind it was being processed as a dream. She woke up quickly, sitting up as she saw that Tatsuya was playing with a Hell butterfly and reiatsu fluctuating around her child.

Even if he was young, Karin felt that he wasn't an ordinary shinigami baby at all. She crawled to him and brought him to her arms, stretching her hand out for the butterfly.

"_Karin, sorry that I can't tell you what happen at the meeting. We had an emergency mission to Hueco Mundo. You are to stay at the Kuchiki mansion, I have provided Byakuya with the details, so please don't try to act like a hero alright. Just, sit tight and I'll handle this." _Ichigo's voice seemed to be firm, clear, and straight to the point as the butterfly flew away and disappeared.

There were not that many choices in life when dealing with that sort of situation, which Karin felt like it made her weak on many points. Well, she didn't really want to put too much hope in some dream or whatever it seemed at the moment. Her mind was railing, feeling slightly sluggish as she walked slowly to the sixth squad barracks to find her sister-in-law's brother.

_+--+_

"Taichou, is it true?" Abarai Renji questioned, still confused by the meeting they had just stepped out from.

"Yes." The monotone voice of Kuchiki Byakuya made it all clear. "It seems that a treason was made between the alliance between Soul Society and the few Arrancar that decided to withdraw from the war."

The details were still sketchy, but it seemed as though those who had refused to follow all of Aizen's orders managed to form an alliance with Soul Society. Now it seemed as though it was going to be broken, with the fact that they had kept one of their captains in captivity until recently.

"Oh man, oh man. Things don't seem to really ease even after so many years." Renji pondered on the matter, even if sometimes it looked like he didn't know much. "Do you think that their plans will pull thru?"

Byakuya wasn't the type of person who would worry about much, but things were slowly changing at the fact that everything around him was in constant danger. He worried over his brother-in-law, even if he hated the man, but everything was in his hands most of the time for some odd reason.

"I do not know that Abarai, but I do not like to think so lowly on it." He muttered, while closing his eyes. "Soul Society will be there to fight against whatever they plan, but mainly because we need to keep the balance. Creatures or beings that do not know anything, can not possibly hold a meaning in the world at all. Their minds and thoughts do not count so much in choices, therefore they must be put to a stop."

His harsh words never failed to put an impact on his vice-captain, which Renji respected because most of his logics were often correct. It didn't mean that Byakuya hadn't made a mistake though in judgement, but for now he liked to think that there was something bad bound to happen.

"Kuchiki-taichou." Karin opened the door and bowed.

"Karin?" Renji looked at her and back at his captain.

"Renji, please take her to the Kuchiki manor." The stoic captain muttered, while avoiding eye contact with young shinigami.

"Hai! Come on, we shouldn't pry in here for long." The last part came as a whisper, as he beckoned the young woman outside.

_+--+_

The faint sounds of whispers seemed to be filling his ears, slowly attempting to open his eyes it seemed rather fuzzy as he stared at green swirls of--he couldn't quite put his mind to the word. He felt a sudden sting on his left side, but he jerked at the sudden hand coming to his injury.

"Hitsugaya-san, you shouldn't move." Nell said as her hands worked on a healing spell. "I am trying my hardest to heal this gash, but if you keep struggling like that then we'll go no where."

"Shut up!" He hissed, while trying hard not to think--well that really defeated the purpose. "I need to leave this place." The white haired captain stared at the castle that was far away from the forest. It had been many months since he had been imprisoned, but his mind was always preoccupied with his fiancée.

"I sent my message to Ichigo. I assume that he'll find a way to get in here to rescue you." Nell smiled a little, trying her best to make it as comfortable as it could for him in order not to have him break.

Nell had returned to her 'grown-up' version, the mask though had been missing for a while now after battling Ulquiorra along with Ichigo. She had nicely decided to stick with Soul Society, even though she had refused to go into the place herself. For the time being though, she was the one to be helping to gather information about the instrument that the Arrancars were making.

"I need to get to her, before its too late." It was unusual for him to be sulking about anything, but he knew that by now he had a child to take care for. He needed to see Karin and his child, but how long will it be until then. "I've already missed my own wedding. I can't afford to lose much time." He groaned in pain as he felt the cool sensation of the Arrancar's reiatsu.

"I'm sorry, but I wouldn't know what to say in this type of situation." She sympathize with him. "When I heard you were here, it seemed as though things couldn't get any worse. They are trying to build a power equally, or greater than the one Orihime had."

Hitsugaya closed his eyes for a second, trying his best to recollect most of his scattered thoughts. There was no focus though on his mind, everything was only focusing on Karin and his child. He scowled as he opened his eyes, watching the black sky above him.

"Is it always black?" He hissed in pain again. The beatings that he had gotten while being imprisoned really were bad, but he wasn't thinking sully on the pain at all. "That hurts like hell!"

"Sorry, but for now I think you should sleep. It is not healthy for you to keep moving." The green haired Arrancar put him to sleep. "You'll be back soon to see Karin-chan."

She had meet her briefly after the war was over, but never really known much about her until Hitsugaya often spoke about his beloved in his sleep after his rescue only a few days ago. Nell feared for him while he had been taken, but for now she promised to return him soon to Karin.

"Karin…" He whispered her name as his breath even out, but there was a slight pained expression painted on his face.

+--+

* * *

_There it is everyone, the third chapter to this story. **WatermelonPrincess**,** Tsukihime nee, **and **LightDark-YinYang**, my thanks goes to the three of you along with the rest who have alerted, favoured, reviewed my story so far. I felt that there had to be more emotions shown here, since most of it is hurt and other conflicting emotions like that. It wasn't my intention at first, but after typing, deleting, replacing...etc. I came to the decision to adding jealousy to this chapter. Karin does have a problem with Hinamori for many things, though it has not being revealed yet; but I will have a follow up on that later on. I won't apologize if this chapter did not meet anyone's expectations, but I just felt like adding this jealousy 'cos we all know that no relationship is perfect of course. I did remember on putting tender scenes and such, but we'll see more of our star couple fighting about certain situations. Do you all think I should change the rating to M? I am not sure, nor do I feel like thinking about it at the moment.  
_

_Also, I would like to ask any of you for ideas for Karin and Yuzu's zanpaktous 'cos I really haven't gotten any clue. I did get an idea of making Karin's shinkai form to be a mace with a chain...but I am not good at choosing weapons since there's tons of them. I'm not good with all my weapon history really, nor do I pay close attention to it when someone starts to talk about it. Anyhow that is besides the point, I would wish for my readers to help me with them 'cos I don't have a lot of ideas at all. PM me to give me your ideas, and you will be sure to be credited for it; though I will work my hardest to portray fighting scenes and weapons to my best. What will happen next? Its chapter four, so I did promise I would bring Hitsugaya back to the story. Sighs, there's a lot of other stuff to worry about. Like it? Review. Hate it? That's alright._


	4. An Oath To You

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach or any of the characters. I am saving up my pennies and nickles, perhaps with that I might.

**Summary:** On the day of the birth of Karin & Hitsugaya's child, news arrives that he's gone missing on a mission to Hueco Mundo when his zanpaktou and a letter are retrieved from Hueco Mundo. Karin though does not believe as such along with her family, but fights the rumours of Soul Society about Hitsugaya being considered a criminal and a traitor, and must face the fact that she would be raising their only child alone.

* * *

**The Bridge Of Silence**

+--+

+An Oath To You+

"_Karin?" Toshiro looked at her wide eyed. It had been the first time anyone ever dared to go against his own rules, and Karin was the first to break them. _

"_What? You weren't going to do it, so I did." She folded her arms, even if the lingering feeling of his lips against her own. The dark haired teenager loved to take things from playful to serious, but at the moment it seemed as though it was rather weird then just the normal. _

"_Don't do something so rash as that." He turned to leave the house, but her hand stretched out to grabbed him. Toshiro turned around, his ocean green eyes stared at her dark ones. _

"_Do I have to paint a damn picture for you to get it?" Karin let go of his arm and turned to leave up to her room. "Never mind it, just get the hell out." _

_Karin for a few days now, since the return of the mysterious boy she had met when she was ten made her world turn. Ten, that age really didn't mean much when having some feelings about 'love'. She had scoffed at that type of stupid things, seeing all the girls in her school go goo-goo on the stupid boys was really troublesome. Now, she would really regret the fact that she ever dared to insult love and its--she just did not want to think about it at all. _

_Hitsugaya was also awkward with having strange feelings stirring deep inside of him, it was rather trivial though. He had really tried to ignore the fact that a deep fire inside of him burned, that was only each time Karin was around. The young captain hated that, well he was only just slightly trying to convince himself about that. _

"_Karin." He muttered as he chased after her, only reaching as she jumped into his arms and kissed him fully again. "Stop, we shouldn't be doing this." He muttered in the kiss. _

_Karin smirked, mainly because it seemed as she could feel the tension on him ebbing away. She really had an effect on him. _

"_Just shut up." She only parted away from him a bit. He only held a bewildered expression on his mature face, but he smirked after processing that on his brain. _

"_Whatever." He cupped her face with his strong hand, and stared into her dark eyes. She was amazing, the fiery person that she was, and he really wasn't sure if it was correct to follow the feeling inside of him. _

_He closed the space between the two, the hall after all was slightly small, but Karin didn't even react so much about it because she pushed herself against him. Toshiro kissed her softly at first, slowly reacting to the kiss as she opened her mouth for access--even if he hadn't asked for it. _

_They fought for dominance at the start, but Karin did not want to really dominate when Toshiro started to defeat her slowly. He brought his hand to her lower back, pulling her close to him as she hooked her arms around his neck to run her fingers diligently in his hair. She had to admit that it was soft, unlike himself, but she really loved him. _

_They pulled away as they felt Ichigo's reiatsu nearing, and getting caught by the orange haired shinigami wouldn't do good at all. _

"_I'll see you tonight." He said, while having his forehead against hers. _

"_Hai, I'll like for us to continue this." She gave him a quick kiss before parting away. "I never thought you would be a good kisser." _

"_There are a lot of things that no one knows." He smirked, in spite of himself. She made him feel different, but it was a good thing because she was easy to really be around with. _

_+--+_

Karin opened her eyes, the moon light was visible through the window as she stared into the darkness around her where the light wasn't bright enough to hit it. She hadn't been able to sleep well after Ichigo had left for a mission, it troubled her mind. Tatsuya was asleep, thankfully because she couldn't have him wake up and cry. At first though, she was glad that he wasn't the type of baby who cried over a lot of things--but at the same time it was she who cried for him.

It was like the agony never slipped away, never left her heart because it was too wounded. She wanted Toshiro to return to her so badly, but she didn't know where he was. She stood up and got out of the futon, walking towards the shoji screen and slid it open.

The fresh night air felt good against her warm skin, it awaken her senses as she stared out into the moonlight. It was often that her thoughts over took her, they were strong and impossible to evade at times. Karin had never wished to not think, well that was an absurd comment to say the least because it was nearly impossible. Her dark eyes stared at the yellow pale light, the sakura trees sure looked magical at night.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" Kuchiki Byakuya appeared out of no where, wearing his sleeping robes. Karin was far too concentrated to get up and greet him properly.

"I couldn't sleep." She continued to stare at the sakura tree, as if hoping it would move so suddenly. Only the leaves bellowed with the night wind, fluttering down into the ground like snow in winter.

"Are you not finding the accommodations to your liking?" He questioned, sitting besides her. The dark haired captain watched her inhale the wind, and opened her eyes to continue focusing on the tree.

"They are…fine Kuchiki-taichou." She answered, turning to look at him. "Do you think that he's still alive? I really hope that he returns soon, before I regret throwing my entire human life away."

The usual stoic man was never bothered by emotions, somehow though after the birth of his niece and nephew he had turned soft. Now, he wished that he could answer those questions, but couldn't because only things were going to get worse. He averted his gaze out to the moon, it was a little bit complicated dealing with emotions with the young shinigami because he didn't even know her well.

Byakuya had met most of the Kurosaki family. The father Isshin was a very annoying person, and he held a grudge against him from a past problem when Isshin had been a captain. He couldn't really say much about Ichigo, only that he was there to protect his sister. Yuzu, she was a very simple person who only wanted to take care of everyone. She was the caring type and was friendly, unlike Karin.

Karin was a very complicated case on its own, and very hard to fully understand in the first place. She was tough, foul mouthed most of the time, but she was also docile. It seemed that motherhood changed her, she didn't often retaliate like most of the time, plus she had lost the one whom she promised to be married.

"I'm sorry for being a burden." Karin suddenly stood up and turned to leave.

He watched her disappear back to her room, it was bothersome to see her very hurt like that. Somehow he was reminded of Rukia sometimes, she had been depressed for a little while. The stoic captain couldn't imagine having some type of situation like that in his life, that was due to the fact that he had felt like that after losing his wife Hisana.

That memory of losing her was painful, far to painful then being stabbed by a sword many times. No, nothing in his world could ever compare to the pain of losing her at all. Often he spent his time recalling the moments in which she had been in his life, smiling and laughing when she was with him. Her scent, the taste of her lips…everything that was Hisana hadn't disappeared at all. Sometimes he missed her so badly it was impossible to concentrate at all, but slowly the pained had ease because he knew that she would never leave his heart at all.

Was it possible for someone to forget the ones they loved dearly? Everyone often said that in years the heart would heal, slowly ease the agonizing sorrow, but was that alright? Byakuya no longer knew what answers to believe because no answer seemed concrete enough, nor were the choices given at all. He sat there staring into the moonlight, lingering on his thoughts.

+--+

The black sky of Hueco Mundo was becoming more dull to look at for the past couple of months, not something that Toshiro looked forward to at all. He stared at the half moon, thinking that perhaps there was more to it then just plain blackness. That thought made him feel like a complete idiot, who could possibly laid down and question why the sky was always black at night?

He closed his eyes for a moment trying to not think about the continuous pain on his left side, but hoping that Nell would return soon. Toshiro didn't even have his zanpaktou to defend himself in case of danger, that was a bad thought. The danger that would come seemed distant, far away like light travelling in space without a certain direction. He mentally smacked himself for foolish thinking, those were obviously not the thoughts he wanted to have at the moment.

Turning to the other side, Toshiro spotted a certain patch of orange walking from the distance. He smiled in spite of himself because he knew who that was, even if sometimes he hated the poor guy. Somehow the idea of being part of his family was still strange, well that was because he still hadn't gotten used to the fact that Kurosaki Ichigo was actually a captain of the Gotei 13. Hitsugaya had to admit that he was strong, someone who Soul Society could count on in order to get saved.

"Hitsugaya-san." Nell's voice came thru fuzzy. Somehow it felt as though he had been asleep.

"What?" His voice was hoarse, the sleep deprivation was getting to him.

Nell stared at him, he looked very tired and weak. She squatted down and began to shake him a bit, somehow she didn't like the fact that he had fallen asleep.

"Oi, Toshiro wake up!" Ichigo spoke, stepping out from the shadows. His amber eyes closing and opening, the sight was not something he expected to see.

"Kurosaki?" His surname came as mumble. Ichigo couldn't even come to terms that Toshiro was actually alive after being missing for so long.

"The one and only, wake up." He answered in a very cocky manner, which he hoped it would get the white haired man growl back in anger.

"It's Hitsugaya-taichou to you." Toshiro opened his ocean green eyes. He looked up to see Ichigo standing there like a statue, an expression he hadn't seen was painted on his chiselled face. "What is with that look? Forget it--how's Karin?" He attempted to get up, but Nell only held him down.

Ichigo sat down, taking off his sword and putting it to his side. He ran a hand thru his orange locks, trying hard not to suddenly burst out into the castle and raise some hell. The older Kurosaki sibling knew better then that, let alone risking the fact that Toshiro was finally out of whatever hell he had been put in.

"She's…Karin." He smirked a little, trying hard not to think at the beating that awaited him. "I couldn't tell her that I was coming to get you. She's not in a great state to see you like this, and I am afraid that you'll have to stay in Urahara's store for a while."

Surprisingly, Hitsugaya did not say anything at that because Ichigo was right about that. He looked up at the stars again and smiled.

"That's good." He muttered, while running a hand on his own snowy white hair. "Did you come alone?"

"No, Rukia came along with our children. She's in Karakura because I didn't want to bring them here." He answered. "Nell sent her message, and as soon as I heard about it I came. Yamamoto-soutaichou wasn't happy with me coming, but I didn't want anyone else to do it."

"Ichigo, you shouldn't pry in Hueco Mundo for too long." Nell interrupted the little reunion. "You should get him out of here as soon as possible, before anyone can trace your reiatsu."

The orange haired captain nodded and stood up abruptly, and put his sword back to its place on his back. He stretched his hand out for the white haired captain to take, gladly he took it.

"Come on, we should get going." Ichigo pulled him up like a sack of potatoes and threw him over his shoulder. "Sorry, but no time for formalities between us captains. At the moment, I have a duty to take care. Better hold on, it will get fast. See you later, Nell." Without allowing Toshiro to answer, he used shunpou to get to the portal fast before it would close.

"See you, Ichigo." She answered, even though he had already left.

Hitsugaya didn't care about it, the time to go home finally came. The unceremonious rescue didn't bother him a bit, because he was going to see her again. He closed his eyes again, as the mounds of sand flew by fast around the two.

_+--+_

"Oi, oi--are you sure its alright?" Renji asked his long time friend, as he held the baby at arms length.

"No, but it is not beautiful to not bath a child." Yumichika said, while pulling out a basket of various soaps and shampoos. "Besides, Karin-chan is a very beautiful woman now. It is better to have a beautiful child if you are a beautiful woman, so he needs to be nice and clean."

Renji restrained himself from laughing at the fact that his very strange friend made such comments, well he had to admit that Karin was beautiful. She was very strong though, and she could easily kick anyone into the curve if they offended her easily. Though he would never say anything of such level to her face, after all, she was already with Hitsugaya-taichou.

He also had to admit that the child look like the white haired captain, that was kind of funny in a way. Tatsuya giggled as he began to tug on his long red hair, briefly chewing on it as well and continuing to giggle.

"I don't ever want to have children, in my life." He muttered, as he helped his friend bath the baby.

"Oh, I think children are adorable." Yumichika grinned like an idiot, but suddenly scrunched his face. "Ew, that is not beautiful."

"And you think they are adorable?" Renji arched his brow and began to dry out the child with the towel. "Remind me again why in the hell we agreed to take care of him?"

The bowl cut shinigami grinned slightly, helping the red head to dress the baby back up again. "Well, simple. Avoiding work." Renji smacked his forehead, completely forgetting that today was not a good day to work at all with his captain.

"There you are, I've been looking for you." A female's voice spoke, as the woman peeked her head into the bathroom. "Renji, when are you going for my food?"

"Ah, in a moment sweetheart." He smiled candidly, as he stared at his wife's bump on her stomach. "Um, Tatsuki, shouldn't you be at home?" Renji decided to take his comment of not wanting children back.

Tatsuki frowned at that, being pregnant was the only thing she hated about life at the moment. Life? That was still ironic to the fact that she was dead.

"Do you want me to use you as a training dummy?" She questioned, getting a very nasty glare about her as she came forward and grabbed her husband by the collar of his robes. "I'm going to kick you to the border of Soul Society if you don't shut your big mouth."

Renji disliked the fact that she was always furious, well she could literally get angry for no reason whatsoever, and she was a very amazing fighter. Another reason not to make her angry for no reason, especially since she was with child.

"Of course not. I'll go get you that as soon as Karin comes back." He tried to stall since did not want to really take a trip to the real world for some food.

"Ah, Tatsuki-chan is as beautiful as ever." Yumichika smiled, as he handed the baby back to Renji. "Well, I am off because I have other business to take care for Zaraki-taichou. I should find Ikkaku and remind him to get started on his paperwork." He continued to mumble off as he stepped out of the room and left.

Renji and Tatsuki became a couple as soon as she entered Soul Society only four years ago, but it had been a couple of strange few weeks though. She was strong unlike no other, she could easily beat anyone up without having to use any force at all. Renji hadn't known most of the details as to how she had died, but all of that didn't matter as he was now married to her for almost two years and a half.

She spun his world around like no other, bringing trouble and comfortable moments as well. Renji could never continue his daily routine without looking at her face. The last time he had seen her was when he was sent on a mission along with Hitsugaya-taichou, Masumoto, Ikkaku, and Yumichika. Back then he remembered that she was simply a fifteen year old girl, a boyish personality, brute strength, and with short hair.

Now, she was to his level in a sense. She had died in her young life, but Renji appreciated her nonetheless.

"Is he always that…strange?" The black haired woman asked, while trying hard not to smack the red headed man.

"Ah, well--now that you mention it. Yes." He answered, scratching his head. "I have to wait for Karin to come back, because she asked me to take care of Tatsuya-san."

She nodded and turned to leave, but Renji caught her with his free arm. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just tired." She smiled, while stretching out her hand to touch his face. "I'm sorry, you shouldn't go anymore because I am not craving it anymore." She snaked her hand to his neck and brought him down to her level to kiss him.

She traced his lips with her tongue, savouring the flavour of the mint that lingered on them. He wasn't allowing entrance to her, mainly because he could allow himself to indulged on this kiss because of the baby in his arms. He pushed her away slightly, his head was spinning because that is how much she had an effect on him.

"Sorry, but I don't want Karin to kill me for not taking care of her child." Renji smiled and massaged her cheek with his calloused thumb. "We'll continue this later." He kissed her in the lips.

"You better, or else I'll be kicking your ass again." She smirked playfully, and ran her hand across his chest.

He nodded his head as he watched her disappear out of the room. Renji was still very much amazed at how amazing Tatsuki really was, and how much she meant to him. After seeing Rukia denying his feelings for her, it had been a hard few years. He felt somewhat lonely at the fact that his long time friend would no longer be there, she would be preoccupied with another man that was not him.

For a while, it was a bit depressing until slowly he begun to realize that the love he had for Rukia was only the one-sided one. Her heart belonged to Ichigo and no one else, so Renji's resolve was made then. He hated to give up, but suddenly Tatsuki came into his world without a single notice.

He hadn't even known her long enough to know what she was about, but slowly his feelings for the girl became too heavy until he cracked one day. Renji pulled her out of the sixth squad division, took her with him to his sleeping quarters and made out with her.

He remembered that she tasted sweet, as if she spent a lot of time chewing bubble gum. The feel of her crème coloured skin, the smell of sweet honey and cinnamon, it couldn't compare to anyone at all. Tatsuki had opened up to him that day, allowing to go far deeper then her ever allowed himself to go to.

The rest was a memory he did not want to ever think out loud because it would always be like a permanent tattoo on the back of his mind. It was special and no one needed to know how incredible it had been, how it managed to changed his world altogether. Frankly, he hadn't known much about love until he confessed to her that day.

Tatsuki was fearless, strong and very dominant about her place in the sixth squad. He had been surprised to find out that Ichigo had been there the day she had died, but Ichigo never shared the details back then because he felt that it wasn't his place to tell. Renji had stared at her firm frame, she had grown taller compared to her fifteen year old self. Her hair got longer, shoulder length and her eyes held a very sheer determination of not giving up. Tatsuki was everything to him.

"Abarai-san, sorry." Karin entered the room fast. She was breathing heavily as if she had been running. He was pulled out of his reverie and he stared at her. "Hurry, I have to take Tatsuya with me."

"What's going on?" He asked, as he followed her run out of the room.

Karin felt her heart race as the familiar reiatsu popped up into Soul Society only minutes ago, it had to be. She was hoping for so much for Toshiro to return, but could it had been possible for him to be here now? It had been a weak signal, but nevertheless, she wanted to see it for herself.

"He's here." She answered, a smile forming on her face as Tatsuya buried his face on her chest.

Renji was confused for the most part, what on earth could have happen? Suddenly, it hit him as the wind smacked against his face as he chased after Karin. The familiar reiatsus popped up suddenly at the Soukyoku Hill, and a very weak sign of a certain captain that had gone missing.

They suddenly stopped, the familiar orange head held his sword up against the two. His gaze looked solemn, as if he was apologizing ahead of time.

"Oi, Ichigo, what the hell are you doing?" Renji asked, while glancing at his friend and respected captain.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot allow you to see him, Karin." He said, his hands were shaking as it was visible of the sword twitching slightly.

"Ichi-nii?!" Karin gasped, unable to understand what it meant. "Oh--God!"

* * *

_That was chapter four everyone. Thanks to **WatermelonPrincess**, **shrimpnoodlesoup**, **Sonata Ann**, and **Tsukihime nee** for reviewing. You guys are really great and I appreciate the kind words. Thanks to **Mello's-Dark-Chocolate** for favouring my story along with **WatermelonPrincess** and **Starlight Luster** for alerting this story. Hopefully this chapter isn't so disappointing, and I really loath myself for bloody putting a cliffhanger. It wasn't my intention really, but I felt the need to because the next chapter will continue with the rest. Don't become inpatient with me though, truly sorry. I am still in need of help with Karin and Yuzu's zanpaktous so send me your ideas via PM. And hopefully, it wasn't so confusing at all. If so, just ask and I'll gladly answer it. _

_I hope that everyone enjoyed the little scene with Yumichika, Renji, and Tatsuya. Renji was going to be originally be paired off with Matsumoto, but then I changed it to Yuzu, and well she ended up with Hisagi--long story short Tatsuki was my last resort. I have read other fics that have them as a couple, so I really liked it alot. I like the pair a lot, that I might add more scenes with them on it. I know that a lot of it was OOC, but what the hell--I am writing this story according to my likings and dislikings. Anywyas, the rating got changed to M 'cos I don't want for people to nag at me that I am using a lot of bad language or whatever the hell people enjoy to complain about. Sighs, I've been listening to a lot of somber-ish music so my thoughts aren't in the 'golden fields' at all and I just remembered that I am on my late teens--I can't believe it! Anyways, that was totally besides the point here. I'll explain more about the reasons why Toshrio is getting arrested and charged, and even though that wasn't even my first intention. What will happen next? Chapter five is on its works. Like it? Review. Hate it? That's alright. _


	5. Righteous Suicide

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any Bleach characters. The toothfairy has not granted my wish yet.

**Summary:** On the day of the birth of Karin & Hitsugaya's child, news arrives that he's gone missing on a mission to Hueco Mundo when his zanpaktou and a letter are retrieved from Hueco Mundo. Karin though does not believe as such along with her family, but fights the rumours of Soul Society about Hitsugaya being considered a criminal and a traitor, and must face the fact that she would be raising their only child alone.

* * *

**The Bride Of Silence**

+--+

+Righteous Suicide +

"_Aw…Taichou don't be so mean." Matsumoto faked a hurt toned voice, which somewhat displayed her curiosity. She had to know what the hell had happen, she knew despite of being known to lack some skills of noticing behaviour there was definitely something going on with her captain. _

_The beautiful vice-captain had known for a while about her captain being in love with a certain person, said certain person though didn't say a single thing--that was getting her rather aggravated. She 'humph' at her captain and turned to leave, but before being allowed to leave he stopped her. _

"_You want to know so badly?" He asked, his tone no different then any other times that she had known him. He was like her little brother, but also someone who Matsumoto held a great respect for. _

"_Well, that is an awfully dumb question Taichou." She mocked him, attempting to sound like him--except that no one could actually imitate him at all. "Well, are you going to tell me or do I have to go and tell Ichigo to tell me." _

_Hitsugaya wasn't going to have any of that, to allow his future brother-in-law or that loud mouthed future father-in-law telling her--quickly reminding himself that he needed to have a few words with that man. He scratched his already messy mop of white hair, trying hard to find words. _

"_I asked her, happy?" He muttered, turning away from her and looked out the window. It was so unbelievably uncomfortable talking about it, even though he was ecstatic about having the guts to make such bold move. _

_Matsumoto's shriek could be heard throughout the entire division, and quite possibly the entire Seireitei. He opened and closed his mouth, mimicking a yawning as he tried to pop his eardrums--the buzzing though wasn't very comfortable at all. _

"_You are indeed growing up Taichou! So, what did lovely Karin-chan say?" Her sparkly blue eyes looked into his teal ones, though he averted his gaze quickly away from those shiny eyes. He was rather afraid to tell her the truth, even as he tried to avoid playing it on his head. _

"_She--didn't." He muttered, striding over to his table and took a seat. Trying his best to look like he was preoccupied with paperwork, except that the very perceptive shinigami wasn't about to let that be blown away into the air. _

"_Oh--you are a joker Taichou." Matsumoto broke into a fit of laughter, drying the tears coming out of her eyes as she grabbed her stomach to stop it from hurting. After what seemed like an eternity, Hitsugaya was noticing that it wasn't funny at all. Why hadn't she answered? Both of them were shinigamis, neither breaking rules at all…so why the answer? _

_That disturbed him a little, not knowing what she was actually thinking or what could possibly run in her head. Kurosaki Karin was a very confusing woman, and he was in need to talk to her clearly about the proposing subject--_

"_Yes, I accept!" It seemed as though he was calling her with thoughts, which was rather strange. He scowled, refusing to look up from his paper. _

"_Karin-chan! This is so great. Don't you think so Taichou. I am so happy for you, when are you going to start planning?" Matsumoto was going a little over with the whole subject, but Karin noticed that Hitsugaya wasn't responding, that made her frown. _

"_Oi, I answered to your damn question. Are you going to sit there and fucking ignore me like a complete idiot?" Karin was fuming, and she strode to his side. Without even noticing, he felt her lips crash against his, but what bother him was the fact that Matsumoto was still there. _

"_Get out!" He shouted, as she jumped in surprised and quickly disappeared. _

+--+

The world stopped moving, time was no longer present somehow as the air felt denser, Karin's lungs were compressing tightly unable to breath.

Heart was sinking lower, lower--the pendulum was easing its speed and striking upon the shaking feeling. The thoughts no longer seemed to be crossing to her, only the mental images of his dead body. What would she do? His son--with that the tears began to fall upon the ground as her body shook.

The air coming into her lungs was hard, like everything was weighing down--slowly those tears turned into an uncontrollable sob as she fell backwards along with Tatsuya. Renji caught her in time, his arms balancing her and the white haired child as he began to cry.

"Karin…" Ichigo's voice was distant, sadness dripping all over the tone of his voice. Rukia stared at her husband, unable to do anything to comfort him because of the situation.

"Kazuki, take Amaya." She ordered, not wanting for them to see this sight at all. It wouldn't do good for their early mental state.

"But mum--" Rukia shook her head as Amaya was about to complain. "Please, just take her Kazuki!" Rukia's voice was firm, but the orange haired boy knew that it wasn't a good time to argue back.

"Hai, come on!" Kazuki grabbed her sister, and disappeared in thin air.

"Oh God, oh God…" Karin repeated, tears cascading down her pale face. Ichigo bent down to look at her, slowly taking the child away from her and handing him to his wife.

"Karin, I am so sorry." He said, his amber eyes looking as though he was so disappointed with everything. The dark haired girl threw her arms at him, and began to cry on his shoulder--wanting and gripping on his haori to release the sadness inside of her.

Rukia began to cry, the tears falling shamelessly into the ground and wetting her face. She cooed at the baby, but it was still hard to stand there and give the support that Karin needed. It was like every little flame of hope had suddenly died, knowing that Hitsugaya-taichou might died scared her as well.

The thoughts of knowing that her nephew wouldn't have a father was far worse, like thinking that her own children wouldn't have Ichigo around to teach them about life and the shinigami ways of living--it was scary. Thinking of the end of the world was a very cryptic thought, knowing that Ichigo wouldn't be part of her life seemed a hell ready to be forming on the normal life she had acquired so suddenly. She knew. Rukia knew it wouldn't be good at all, therefore losing her composure she let out a sob and then ran off.

Renji stared at his childhood friend disappear, the despairing feeling was creeping into him slowly as well. The chills that ran up and down his spine, how come he was affected to so much? That alone scared him, scared him to death to know that if something like that happen to his wife--no that thought was far too ghastly to even be thinking about.

So much pain, sorrow--all those awfully bad discomforting feelings were far too much to handle. Renji fled the scene as well, trying hard not to picture that situation with Tatsuki in it. Tears were burning on his eyes, it was impossible to know how one would feel in that situation. Running--running from the feeling wouldn't be sufficient enough to really get away from that pain crushing one's heart.

+--+

"Unohana-taichou?" Kotetsu Isane gasped a little, not wanting to believe the current situation at all.

"I'm sorry Isane, but I am afraid that it is all on his own now." The motherly shinigami added, while looking at the semi-conscious captain on the bed. "The fight for living is that greater then a war itself, knowing that war would end in an amicably agreement. Life doesn't work like that, knowing that you only have two choices; death or continuing living."

The light haired coloured vice-captain nodded at that knowing well that it was mostly true, but why would anyone do something as horrid as this? Torturing a captain, well a young captain nonetheless and leaving him in a terrible state between life and dead. Anyone would be crazy enough to be in a situation like that, but more importantly; he had a family to care for.

"Let it not bother you Isane. The cycle of living in the real world is as equal as here. Our demise comes at the moment in which our time is over." The captain expressed turning to leave the room. "We'll allow Kurosaki-san to see him if anything were to happen over night."

"H-hai!" Isane stuttered, fighting the tears back as she followed her captain out of the room and off to another case to find.

Hitsugaya's eyes were closed, but his perceptive senses were still active as he felt the pain in his abdomen travel up and down. The pain was worse then ever, but what hurt was knowing that Karin wasn't around at all.

"_Promise not to leave me again?" Her voice was soft, clear even as she gripped his hand tightly after she had won the championship for the soccer team. _

"_Why would I do something like that?" His answer was a question, the bad habit that Karin hated so badly about him every time they talked about something. _

"_Well maybe because we are dating, and the fact that you have your reasons to come back." Her tone of voice was playful as she ran her hand over his white hair, allowing the softness to make her feel sheepish and childish in a way. _

_Hitsugaya cocked his head to the side slightly while thinking about it, not that there was much to think about really. Karin was there smiling up at him and holding her close, why was it hard to believe that she was actually there running her long thin fingers through his messy hair. _

"_You know I can't keep a promise like that." He expressed, tugging a piece of her hair back behind her ear. The piercing in her ears never shocked him at all as the little dragon earring on her left ear made him smile. "I promise. I'll protect you while you are with me, swear to not hurt your feelings--I can't believe you are making me say all these rubbish like this." _

_Karin smiled, snaking her arm around his neck and pulling him down for a kiss. "That's because--to hell with it just kiss me." He smirked a little, without noticing that everyone in her team was actually watching this._

He had promised to protect her, but the weakness that he wasn't used to was there so present as he hung by a thread with life. It was thin, the light that appeared in front of him was telling him that it was time to actually die and be reborn in the living world again--what kind of theory was that? No, Karin needed him.

"Toshiro!" Her voice came to him, those sweet lips of hers brushed against him. "Please…please don't leave me. I can't do this without you. Come back to me like you promised! Promising you would never leave me alone." The salty tears were imploring him to wake up, to simply stand up and say that he was alright. Brushing his lips against hers to tell her that everything was going to be alright--but that wasn't the case at all.

"K-Ka-rin." His voice was low, it hurt Karin to hear that type of voice because it indicating defeat from him.

"Toshiro, please." She pleaded, pressing her lips against his as the tears fell onto his pale skin. "Don't leave me, please. Don't do it for me, do it for Tatsuya." Her face fell to his chest, wanting to feel and hear that heart beating rapidly just as it often did. Now, it seemed like a slow beating of a clock ticking minutes away, those minutes of life he was holding onto dearly.

"I--I am--glad--t-to…" He swallowed hard, the lump on his throat growing tighter along with the air that was coming in slow rushes. "Hear that--Tatsuya…" His lips were dried.

Karin stared at him, the flickering on his eyes was vanishing slowly as the glistening tears began to appear on those ocean green eyes she could stare at forever. Sobbing again, she buried her head on his chest.

"I'm…sorry." His voice was becoming softer, fainter as she gripped his hand tightly trying to reach for the warmth that was always comforting.

"No, please!"

+--+

Rukia curled into a ball after she dropped Tatsuya off with Ukitake-taichou, it was hard to contain herself from breaking down at that sight with Karin back at the hill. She cried, the tears came down like a bursting dam as slowly her heart was crumbling. She wouldn't know what it would feel like knowing to lose someone you loved, it only hurt to know that Karin gave up a lot in order to get the life she held onto now, but why was it so difficult?

Ichigo appeared, holding onto Tatsuya as he stared down at his petite wife crying her soul away. He grimaced at the sight while his nephew tugged on his orange locks, life couldn't get any more complicated then this? Sighing, he sat next to her while Tatsuya was put on the futon on the floor along with some toys.

"Rukia?" He stretched out his hand to touch her shoulder, carefully not wanting to push her at all because of her current state.

"Ichigo." She turned over and threw her arms at him. Holding onto him like life depended on him because that's how it felt like at the moment for her. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left like that."

His amber eyes stared out the shoji slides, the late spring air didn't smell warm like it would usually smell like at all. Somehow there was an undertone to it, like death would suddenly parade in Soul Society. The irony to his thought failed to come, as though he hadn't known death at all since he gave himself to it willingly. Was it different when knowing that you had fought for so long to stay alive?

"Its fine Rukia. I couldn't say anything to her either knowing well that whatever I said wouldn't make a difference at all." He expressed, running his fingers on her dark hair. "I couldn't do anything either, so feeling helpless is the only thing that I have left in me."

"I know, it just irks me knowing that we can't do anything about it." Rukia snuggled closer to him, drying her eyes with her hand and wrapping her arms around his waist. "Ichigo, don't ever leave me." He scowled, knowing that the way she usually said things they were never like that at all.

"I won't leave you midget." He smirked, hoping that she would jump up and beat the shit out of him, often done when she was called that.

Rukia growled and pinched him in the side, earning a groan from the orange haired male by her side. It was better to have light-hearted moments instead of the depressive ones, it was better to think of a happier life. And she would never thought to have actually lead a life along with a great husband, and two magnificent children.

"I love you." She kissed him as she ran her hand in those orange locks that she loved so much. It would be hard to think of a life without him. Since the first day in which they met, Rukia knew that her world would change because of that teenage boy.

His will to protect people astound her, the way he fought to save her was a marvelling thought, and when he took her in his arms and told her to never leave him--that was enough to know that he would always be there for her. Being away from Ichigo was enough hell for her, knowing he wasn't there smiling or saying really senseless things--those were the reasons why she was always aware of her feelings for him.

The time in which he shared a true smile with her, when he open up about his mother, talking about the things in life that seemed to be slipping away slowly. Those moments were truthfully things that she could never regret because it meant everything in the world, knowing that she was able to talk to someone about painful things as well.

Ichigo was a protector, a caretaker, a healer--everything that she could think because he was special despite his young appearance. She could never get enough of him at all.

"I love you as well." He kissed her softly.

+--+

"Renji, what are you doing?" Tatsuki looked at her husband wide eyed, the expression on his face wasn't the one she was used to. Even though they'd only been married for a short time, she felt like she had known the red headed man for a long time now.

"I--it's Karin." He said, pulling her into his arms and hugging her as tightly as he could without crushing her stomach.

"Renji, I'm sorry." She pulled away from him just enough to look at him. "You are a big boy, come on. You are a tough guy, don't tell me that you think that Hitsugaya-taichou is going to give up that easily?" A smirk played on her face as her thin fingers traced his jaw line, sending chills down his spine.

"Tatsuki, its not that." He pulled away from her and stared out the window of the room. "Somehow it scares me to know that something like that might happen to you. What would I do if I lost you? Thinking about it just drives me completely crazy, and it just makes me charge into Hueco Mundo and kick their fucking asses because--I don't even know what the hell I am saying!" He punched the wall, anger building like anticipation.

The pregnant shinigami stood there, trying her best to think of something to say to comfort his troubled feelings. He was trembling with rage, those eyes of his turned darker--there was something more scary to his demeanour that was a little difficult to comprehend.

She wrapped her arms around him again, trying hard to prevent him from going crazy with fighting as he often did. Renji sighed deeply, pulling her into his arms again and kissing her lips. That sweet taste always managed to pull him from his anger and suddenly to his happiness, the happy feeling always went up to him as he would run his hand on her stomach.

"I'm sorry for all the trouble you are going through." She whispered as a tiny smile. "He kicks a lot, sometimes I wonder if he'll be restless like you." Renji's eyes widened.

"Our baby is a he?" He was very glad, but at the same time he wanted a little girl first.

"Of course, Unohana-taichou told me today when I went to see her." Tatsuki sat on the bed and leaned back. "I am so tired from today, I just hope that things turn out better then I expect them to be."

Renji sat besides her pulling her into his lap to be able to rub her back, knowing that the weight of the baby was doing that to her. It was still completely shocking that soon he'll be a father, proudly holding onto a baby boy and being able to show off his parenting skills.

"Shall we start planning for names then?" Renji smiled at Tatsuki, who in return punched him lightly in his arm.

"I don't know, there's only two months left though." She laughed.

Tatsuki couldn't be any more in love with the red headed man, it was so strange how she was attracted to that bad boy exterior, but she knew that he was a softy. It was adorable seeing him get angry over little things, make things a little over dramatic when they didn't need to really. Overall, she had thought she would hate dying in the first place and coming here, but Abarai Renji managed to change her world entirely.

Love had been like a blasphemy in her world, everything about it made her think ill about humanity itself. She watched Inoue Orihime stare at Ichigo during their high school years, drooling over him as if there was nothing in the world left. The tough shinigami had disliked it a bit, annoyed to the point in which sometimes she just sat there listening to her rant about her crush endlessly.

In the end, Orihime had been captured by some guy named Aizen, and then she had run off with an Espada during the war--or so the story was. Tatsuki felt betrayed at the fact that she had disappeared like that, knowing that she was always there to lend her a hand just in case she would be in trouble. No, Orihime was now an enemy in her book after disappearing leaving everyone behind to care for themselves. Despite the fact that she hadn't known much back then, Tatsuki was glad to not have known really much since it was still complicated.

Renji was there, watching out for her and then suddenly disappearing without saying much, and then appearing in front of her after entering Soul Society as a dead soul. That red flaming hair, those trivial tattoos she found hard to understand--everything about him was wild and unlike her. She watched him show his 'bankai' that awesome strength could match hers, in defeat after a sparring session she knew that there was something special about him.

+--+

"Karin!" Yuzu entered the 4th division panting. "Where is she?"

"Inside with Hitsugaya-taichou." Hisagi replied, pointing at the large door at the end of the empty hall. "I--I don't think it looks that great."

Yuzu sank on the chair besides him, her head on her hands because of everything that was spinning out of control. The void growing darker, deeper, heavier…everything was coming to an abrupt stop suddenly to change things dramatically. A tear escaped her eyes, it was impossible to see her twin sister be in pain and a sad expression upon her face.

"Why do I feel like all of us are helpless?" She asked, the tears rolling down her cheeks as she looked up at the dark haired shinigami. He didn't know why that feeling existed in everyone today, but wasn't everyone supposed to stay strong in order not to show weaknesses? It was like a circle--no end to it.

"Somehow I can't answer that question." He expressed, leaning back against the chair as his head hit the wall. "I feel like a fucking useless ass."

"Please don't curse like that." Yuzu looked at him, wishing and hoping that he would always stay there by her side despite of the short time they had been together. He was rough and was a believer in strength, Yuzu couldn't really understand much of that perspective because she had been a gentle person.

On the short five year span, Yuzu was still unable to grasp the idea as to why she could easily kill a hollow or simply hurt someone. Even her brother had mentioned how much she had changed, and then falling for his vice-captain certainly made it uncomfortable to talk about. She could not help being attracted to him, even if he looked like some thug from the outside with that tattoo on his face and the three scars on the other side of his face. He was actually pretty well spoken, soft and very caring about people's opinions or suggestions about--anything.

At first, she only walked in and out of the 9th squad's office without even paying the slightest attention to him, it was strictly work and nothing more when she set foot there to see her brother--well she called him Kurosaki-taichou for respect. The 13th squad's captain didn't complain at all about her usual visits there, well he prolonged them most of the time because he really couldn't do much and her help was a lot.

"_Sorry." Hisagi looked down at the girl on the floor. _

"_Ah, no it was my fault." Yuzu smiled and stood up quickly, without needing his help on doing so. She dusted her robes and picked up the book she was carrying. "Is Kurosaki-taichou around? I was hoping to meet with him, to return this book to him in behalf of Ukitake-taichou." _

_He shook his head in a 'no' fashion, and then informing her that he was no where around at the moment due to a meeting with the head captain. _

_The dark haired shinigami stared at the slender woman in front of him, her beauty radiated like no other. Her gold like hair was shinning, her eyes looking right at him with a very hidden expression behind them, but she seemed a little different then most women he met. _

"_I-I should go." He turned to leave, feeling the heat rise to his face as his feet dragged him away from her._

Their meetings were odd like that, she didn't say anything because there wasn't much to think over the male at all; simply that he was the vice-captain under her brother. He was manly and extremely into himself a little bit, showing off to the women on his own division when she first seen him. Later, he changed and became more reserved--completely ignoring all the girls that swooned over him.

Yuzu couldn't have known that she would fall in love with that man, the one and only who seemed to understand her and the gentle manner in which she often put herself in. The first time he had confessed his love it was like everything just fell on top of her, it was awkward and strange knowing that a lot of shinigami females would be angry about it. That alone wasn't enough to stop her from allowing herself to become his one and only girl.

"I do hope that he doesn't--"

"Make way, make way!" Five shinigamis from the 4th squad sprinted down the hall, and shouting 'make way' repeatedly as they rushed inside the doors to the room in which Hitsugaya was at.

"What's going?" Hisagi stood up abruptly, and stopped the other shinigamis that followed along with Unohana-taichou and Kotetsu-fukutaichou.

"Hisagi-fukutaichou, Kurosaki-san. I would suggest for you to be ready for whatever comes next." Unohana explained, as she gave orders to those shinigami that were following her. "Please go get Kurosaki Ichigo-taichou, Kurosaki Rukia-fukutaichou, and the rest of the Kurosaki family."

"W-what do you mean?" Yuzu asked in a frightening tone, her hands were shaking with fear.

"I am afraid that things aren't going to go well tonight. There's so much that my division can do in this type of situation." She spoke softly, and then turned to leave. "Hisagi-fukutaichou please be at your ready to send the news to Yamamoto-soutaichou."

Hisagi's eyes widened--that could obviously not be true by the look on her face. He turned to look at Yuzu, who looked like as if everything in the world was ending right in front of her, it would seem that way though because it was her sister who was going to suffer.

"Karin-chan!" She gasped, the tears falling down her face. He embraced her, holding onto her as she sobbed on his chest. He couldn't think, speak, or anything that would make her feel better--but what about Karin though?

+--+

The air from her lungs escaped, everything was happening like a blur as she felt herself being pulled away from him. The screams coming out of her mouth seemed to sound silent on her ears, the tears streaming down her face could only depict what this frightening feeling was creeping into her chest.

He laid there, motionless as his heart had stopped beating and he looked peaceful. Karin screamed as she no longer could feel his heart beating under her hand, it was too soon. He was there, he had been informed about his son, the wedding--all of those future plans he had heard. Why?

Why did suddenly the dream end like that? So tragic, so full of void and agony, hardships only seemed to be predicted on that distant future. Karin hated it, she wanted to die right there along with him to go and be reborn again. No matter how many times it would take to die, she only wanted to be with him.

"Toshiro!" She screamed again as the anger and fear were pulsating in her veins. Her heart was beating erratically, pounding her chest so hard that it was hard to speak or breath.

He couldn't die. Hitsugaya had promised not to go and get killed when he first fought on the war, he had promised to stay with her for the rest of their living days, they had a child--why was it difficult to not keep a promise?

Whatever was being said in the room it was mute, only the bone crushing pain was present inside of Karin's chest. Her cries weren't enough, every single minute ticked away without care, without stopping at all--after all time couldn't be possibly stopped or changed.

Ichigo rushed inside the private quarters, the mess that was there seemed completely out of sorts. Rukia followed behind along with their children, everyone was not understanding everything that was happening. It was all too fast.

"What the hell is going on?" Ichigo's voice boomed over the silence, ever ounce of anticipation dripping from his voice.

"Taichou, don't you feel it?" Hisagi seemed the only one with the clear mind, even though it seemed to slowly be clouding him.

The orange haired captain's amber eyes widened, the reiatsu signal was no longer there--that couldn't be true at all.

"T-Toshiro?" He couldn't speak, he couldn't react at all…

* * *

_Chapter five everyone, thanks for sticking around since the beginning. Thanks to **kwisy**, **ChevalierAirumel**, **Sonata Ann**, **Mello's-Dark-Chocolate**, **The Dragon of the Hill** and **Tsukihime nee** for reviewing and the awesome comments. Also, **Toushi-chan** for favouring as well as **kwisy**, who also alerted, and **kirida.ann** for alerting as well. If I forgot anyone, I do apologize greatly but everyone is great for supporting this story. Anyways, I reviewed last chapter and I saw a lot of mistakes--especially on my author's note. I revealed something that was entirely different from my original idea, so hopefully I didn't mislead you to think that Hitsugaya was actually going to be arrested. Though it was on my original idea, but I changed it. Anywyas--this chapter was a bit dark with the emotional scenes and please do not hate me for what I am doing to Hitsugaya, he's actually a favourite of mine and I would not put his character in this mess. Sighs, this chapter was really hard to write because of all the emotional things here, and it was hard to pin point an exact emotion since I feel that everyone feels pain differently, even though it is the same feeling--even this is hard to explain!  
_

_I'll extend my many thanks to **Sonata Ann** for helping me with the zanpaktou deal, but I still need more ideas because it is harder for me to work on them on my own. I have school and all these other crap to deal with, so I don't actually have time to sit down and do a bunch of research for this. I have ideas on my own, I have names and such written down--the only problem is that I can't translate them to Japanese because I know that I have to put words together and all of that. So once I get them put on romaji, please do not complain that is done wrong--I'll be using websites that help me with the translations. I should take Japanese or something--anyways besides the point. I think I am going to start doing only updates on Thursdays, though I do not promise that entirely. Well, what will happen next chapter? I have no clue because the plot is only in my brain, but I have some ideas as to how to start it. Like it? Review it. Hate it? That's alright._


	6. The Funeral Of The Heart

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. Going Trick or Treating will not make me the owner, the only thing I'll get out of it will be candy.

**Summary:** On the day of the birth of Karin & Hitsugaya's child, news arrives that he's gone missing on a mission to Hueco Mundo when his zanpaktou and a letter are retrieved from Hueco Mundo. Karin though does not believe as such along with her family, but fights the rumours of Soul Society about Hitsugaya being considered a criminal and a traitor, and must face the fact that she would be raising their only child alone.

**The Bridge Of Silence**

+--+

+The Funeral of The Heart+

"_What the hell are you staring at?" Karin arched her brow at Toshiro, who seemed to have gone out into space--rarely ever happening though. _

"_Nothing." He answered lamely, bored if one would stare at his expression as he looked at the book in front of him. "Human literature is not as fascinating as I would've thought." He mused, though it really pike his interest on the strange stories. _

"_British literature could do that to you, though I blame Ichi-nii for making me a freak over that." She laughed, as she finished writing her report for another class. "Besides, aren't child prodigies suppose to be all interested on that kind of shit?" _

_He scowled at her, but refrained himself from commenting at the moment--he noted to get back at her later if possible. What was so special about her? She was a plain girl, nothing really much about her would really make sense. Karin was a girl version of that oaf Kurosaki Ichigo--that damned man he still hated for never addressing him properly._

"'_Tis but thy name that is my enemy; thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What's Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot, nor arm, nor face, nor any other part belonging to a man. O, be some other name!'" She quoted, trying hard to rack her brain as to recall something from that awful play. "'What's in a name? that which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet; so Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd, retain that dear perfection which he owes without that title. Rome, doff thy name, and for that name which is not part of thee take all myself.'"._

"'_I take thee at thy word: call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; henceforth I never will be Romeo.'" Toshiro smiled at her as he knew that awful play, after he had heard Ichigo spoke so highly of this play to Kuchiki Rukia one night. _

"'_What man art thou that thus bescreen'd in night so stumblest on my counsel?'" Karin stood up, pacing around her room, while keeping her gaze upon the white haired boy. _

" '_By a name I know not how to tell thee who I am: My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself, because it is an enemy to thee; had I it written, I would tear the word.'" He stood there unable to keep his gaze away from her, which she too was his own Juliet. Karin stared at him silently, refusing to speak anymore if though afraid to hear more of those words. _

"_I should take a shower. You're pretty good." She smiled and stepped out of the room. He sighed deeply, why was it so hard to face her a lot of times? He could not help the times in which he sat there in class staring at her with longing, as if she was really the only sole focus of his life._

'_So, staring at her. That's a classic sign of love my young Toshiro.' Hyorinmaru smirked inside of his head. _

'_Shut up, I do not like her.' Toshiro spat angrily, though it felt like he was going psychotic because he was talking to his head. 'Kurosaki is not even my type of girl--what the hell! I don't like her and I am not interested.'_

'_Oh, someone is in denial. Admit it little boy, you are in love with Kurosaki Karin. I think she really matches your personality well, if I must give my input on this.' The icy dragon commented. Toshiro sometimes hated the fact that he knew things that sometimes were slightly hard to figure out on his own. 'Its time to move on Shiro-chan, Hinamori is in the past and you never loved her. Open up to Karin before its too late.' Suddenly it felt empty, going back to reality sometimes did nothing at all. _

"_Admitted before its too late?" He voiced out just as Karin entered back in the room. _

"_Admit what?" She asked curiously, as she leaned against the door frame while drying her hair with the towel. _

"_Nothing, quit asking me that like I am a five year old." Toshiro stood up again from her bed, and made to step away, but only having him being blocked by the slim figure of the young girl in front of him. _

"_Whatever is troubling you will annoy me, you know that." It was a statement, nothing more. He looked at her dark eyes, she held a very unreadable expression, it would take many years to figure out what the hell that expression meant. _

"_I told you it was nothing. Quit bugging me about it, I am going now." He pushed his way out. _

_Why couldn't he admit the truth? It was revolting to be in love with a human girl, let alone a Kurosaki girl--that thought was even worse to even go into at all. He hated himself, but it was all Matsumoto's fault for always making him think about her. _

"_Fuck!" He groaned. "I fucking love her." _

'_Finally, though I think you got it on the wrong time.' Hyorinmaru poked fun of him. _

'_Piss off.' Toshiro grumbled and kicked a rock. _

+--+

Stunned. Shock. No words seemed fitting to describe the feeling at the moment, the tension growing thicker with each ticking of the clock. Ichigo suddenly felt like everything came crashing down, far more worse then losing a lot of shinigamis during the Winter War--this didn't even compare to that.

"He--he can't possibly--be." He was out of words, everything closing in on him like a cage. Why did it feel so wrong? No, Hitsugaya Toshiro couldn't possibly be dead at all. When were the curtains going to be pull up on this little joke? He couldn't be giving up now.

There was so much that he needed to do, swearing to protect his sister and now he had a child awaiting for him to return. What would happen if he were to--no that was impossible and he wasn't going to accept it at all.

"You better not die Toshiro." Ichigo muttered, while Rukia stood besides him holding his hand tightly.

Inside, Karin was stuck between wanting to kill herself or hoping for an obvious miracle at the moment. The void was growing darker, stronger that it would be impossible to let go. She could feel it just like everyone else could, the signal was very faint that those who were not close to him could not feel it. Karin hoped for so much, she wanted him here with her and getting ready to be married. What now? If he were to--that thought was repulsive like a bloody joke that made no sense.

She couldn't do anything, couldn't pull him out with a kick as often she would have to do when he was stuck on his own void. Karin needed him, he was the flame in her life that managed to make her believe in something more. He changed her, made her into a person that was deemed enough to have a better life without pain or anything like it had been in the past. He knew about her dead mother, her problems with the fact she couldn't make friends.

All of those moments in life that which she was a possessor of had been shared with him, he listened to her carefully while studying her profile from the distance. Now, the only thing that she could do was to stare at his almost lifeless body fighting to keep alive. Tears began to cascade down her pallid face again, her dark eyes dilated as she screamed. The scream itself sounded painful, filled with the tainted sorrow in which one would feel when on the verge of losing someone.

Holding closely into the sanity wasn't enough to keep together, it was the thought of losing everything in only a few seconds that scared Karin the most. What would happen if it was her instead of him? What about Ichigo? Her annoying father? Yuzu? Him--it was too scary.

"Toshiro!" She cried, as she was hauled out of the room because it was not helping the situation.

"Kurosaki-sama, please stay back." One of the shinigamis tried to pry her hand from the door.

"No, let me go you bastard. He needs me, can't you see? Get your fucking hands away from me!" She shrieked. How could someone try to pry her away from him at this moment?

Toshiro was inside fighting to keep himself alive for her, why people couldn't understand anything at all. She screamed again in frustration, anger--everything was just pilling down on her like a ton of rocks and it was not a good feeling at all.

"Let my sister go." Ichigo's voice was filled with anger and fear. He felt like he was shaking as he put a hand on her shoulder, it was a sensation that travel into her as well. "Allow her to go inside, she needs to be there for him. Toshiro needs her just as much as she needs him to wake up." It was unusual for him to be rather sensitive, but she couldn't think or anything else because it seemed that he too--was hurting as well.

"Ichigo." Rukia mouthed, looking at how strange he was acting. He had been a little hostile at the fact that Toshiro had been weak, unable to defend himself back in Hueco Mundo when he had been capture.

Somehow she understood now, she understood that her husband wanted for Hitsugaya-taichou to be alive because he had a duty to take care of Karin, and a child as well.

Karin was frozen in silence, it was like the words never failed to carve inside of her at all--he knew all along how it felt to be so close to someone. She wanted to hug him, tell him that he was the best brother in the world because of that, but at the moment it was improper. She mouthed a 'thank you' as she walked back inside, feeling slightly calmer.

Unohana-taichou was instructing something to the other shinigamis, as all of them were suddenly packing things. Karin looked around in fear, it couldn't be something really or could it?

"W-what's happening?" Her voice croaked as she fought the choking tears. Their actions were strange, and she wanted to know what was happening.

The older shinigami turned around and removed the rubber gloves from her hands.

"Kurosaki-san, I think that he'll be fine now." Unohana expressed, as the other shinigamis were walking out of the room. "It seemed that there was there was a virus spreading on his wound that was slightly eating his reiatsu away, but he'll make it."

The dark haired young woman smiled, tears welding up in her eyes as she threw her arms around the woman captain. "Thank you! Thank you Unohana-taichou for everything you have done."

"It will be fine, just try to hold onto that faith." The motherly shinigami patted her in the back, and then parting from her. "Now, stay close. He is currently still sleeping, but I think he'll hear you just fine."

Karin smiled simply and watched the older shinigami disappear out of the doors, hopefully she would inform everyone that her fiancé was going to make it. It was so crazy how things worked out, one minute it felt like the entire world would collapse and everything, but suddenly everything seemed to be back to normal.

She turned to look at him, his peaceful face still slightly pallid, but he was breathing just fine on his own at least. Karin cried again as she buried his face on his chest again--allowing the returning warmth to comfort her once again like it always had. He was there, he was going to live--she wanted for Tatsuya to be there so he could see his father.

"Everyone is waiting out there for you Toshiro." She murmured while stroking his snowy white locks and tracing his jaw line with her finger. The silence feeling heavy but peaceful, the machines beeping only suffocating the silence. "I need you here, that is why I don't want you to leave me. I've missed you…" Her voice quiver as she begun to cry again.

The pain was still there, the fear of losing him never leaving her for a moment--but she was exceptionally glad that he was going to be fine at least.

+--+

Tatsuki stared out the window, the signal had gone off for a moment, but suddenly she felt the reiatsu growing back again to normal. She smiled as she sauntered back inside the large office, the silence filling it with every drop it had in it while Kuchiki Byakuya sat there returning back to his task.

"Kuchiki-taichou?" She looked at the man, while taking a seat on the chair because her feet were growing tired.

"Yes?" He replied dryly as always, without bothering to look up at her at all.

"Everyone seemed so alarm, why didn't you?" She was curious to know why the sixth squad captain didn't even react in any way at all.

He didn't need to think for some fascinating answer, or something that would only render the senses at all. It was so simple. "He was still alive, only his level of reiatsu was lowering in strength."

Tatsuki smiled and nodded her head in understanding about that. It was so strange how things returned to normal, but somehow there was something still being hidden behind all that silencing façade that was getting tiring, then again it was always this strange every time something bad were to happen.

"Kuchiki-taichou!" Renji suddenly burst inside the office and was panting.

"What is it Abarai?" He questioned, still avoiding eye contact with him or reacting any differently.

"There's a meeting. Yamamoto-soutaichou said it's a very classified."

The long haired captain stood up and disappear in sight, leaving the two shinigamis in a confusion state because it was really strange. No one would have a meeting this quickly, and Renji knew there was something wrong going on that he wasn't liking at all.

"What's the matter?" Tatsuki asked as she waved her hand around his face.

"I feel that there's something wrong going on here. And I am not liking this at all." The red headed man expressed, while grabbing his wife's hand. "I have to go see Ichigo. Go straight home and don't talk to anyone."

She looked at him curiously, studying the way he looked as though there was something suspicious going on, but did not question.

"Alright, but bring me something good to eat this time." She smiled.

"If I must." That earn the red head a kick in the shin as he disappeared using shunpou.

His thoughts weighing up and down while his head felt fuzzy, it couldn't be possible for something bad to happen once Hitsugaya-taichou would wake up. Renji just knew there was something strange with that, no one suddenly going off to Hueco Mundo to investigate at the fact that the white haired captain was kidnap for so long.

He landed on the ground of the 4th squad barracks, some low seated shinigamis bowing at him as he passed and walked inside to find the 9th squad captain. The feeling from the hospital scene made it feel slightly creepy, the smell of death and such mixing together to make one frightening feeling. It was ironic in a sense because in a hospital life and death were involved, a lot were born and a lot died there. He shook his head at the sickening thought, then again his wife was going to have a child soon.

"Renji?" Ichigo appeared as he was followed by Rukia and their children.

"Renji-nii!" Amaya looked at the tall man and smiled.

"Uncle Renji, what are you doing here?" Kazuki looked at him with a questioning expression, except that the scowl was slightly throwing the expression into another description in a sense.

"Sorry guys, but I need to talk to Ichigo. You don't mind do you?" He looked at the orange haired man, who gave him a nod.

"Amaya I'll play tea with you tonight okay. Kazuki, you should return back to school before missing more classes." He looked over at his kids.

"Hai Otousan!" They chorused as they walked off together while playing around.

Ichigo turned back to look at his friend, something told him that whatever he had to say wasn't going to sound good at all. The confusion never failed to bother him at all, everything was slightly going into the weird direction, which he did not like at all.

"I should be going to Ukitake-taichou. He said I should tell him about the news as soon as possible. See you at home." Rukia gave him a quick hug and disappear from sight.

"What is it that you need to talk to me about?" Ichigo asked, as the two begun to walk away from any hearing distance.

Renji looked around both sides, carefully trying not to allow his suspicions to be heard by anyone else.

"There's something I don't think is right around here." He stated as he thought carefully as to how to explain it. "Hitsugaya-taichou was captured, which obviously was a mistake on the part for Hueco Mundo since now they have broken the agreement. I feel that there's something more to it, as if whoever is doing this is actually doing it on purpose."

Ichigo was not quick on agreeing, sure the signs were obvious like the ones back ten years before the Winter War had begun against Aizen. There was nothing that bastard would do to get his hands on that key, and become the sole ruler of Soul Society and such. What bother him was that it was like that, was it a trap? Going to the lengths of capturing a captain, well he did think that anyone would go beyond the regular bad guy thing.

"You might be right to say that, but we don't have evidence." Ichigo said, as they took a turn down an empty passage in the 9th squad. "Nel said to me that they plan on making something like Inoue's power, but something that goes into the realms of awakening the dead. Toshiro might know something since he was there, but are they trying to make us think that he would tell us? No, they would expect him to release everything that he holds in memory during all of those months he spent locked up. So, they want us to know what they are up to."

"Hold on, they want us to know? What the hell…last time we thought that we knew what it was that Aizen wanted." Renji argued as he remembered the day exactly in his head. "It might be a trap again, make us go there again and get killed. I don't fucking want to be lied again, not after nearly being killed in battle by that Szayel bastard."

Ichigo shook his head, remembering the fact that he too almost died by the hands of Aizen and Ichimaru. Watching everyone being torn to pieces like a rag doll, then having being abandoned by Inoue was surely not something he liked to go back to again. There was the possibility that someone knew everything about all shinigamis, their powers, strength, weakness--all of that.

"Come on, I think we need to dig up more records." Ichigo motioned for Renji to follow him. There was something going on and he was going to find out.

+--+

"What do you think Isshin?" Urahara questioned, as the two older men sat there drinking tea accompanied by Ishida Ryuuken.

"Absurd theories like that fail to really come to me at the moment." The Quincy commented coolly as he blew smoke into the night air.

"You have to think into it though. There is evidence to know that there's something that someone is planning in Hueco Mundo. Think back to all of the vital information we gathered after the war against Aizen." Isshin pointed out, as he too believed in the same thing as Ryuuken. "I can't agree with everything you say old friend, but the signs are there. Tell me, do you think it could be possible for that Inoue girl to be working along that plan?"

The stripped hat man leaned against the table, propping his chin on his hand and thinking carefully into that assumption alone. Having being betrayed by her surely made a lot of relationships to stray, it was a hurtful thing for everyone.

"There's the possibility knowing that she could be working along with this plan. After all, that's what the arrancars and all of them are trying to do at the moment." He informed. "Inoue-san would be the only one to know about Hitsugaya-kun's weaknesses along with the rest of the seated members of the Gotei 13. I say it would be hard to give all the information."

Both, shinigami and Quincy agreed on the matter because that was a possibility.

"Also add the fact that she did betray us for something she thought we were doing wrong." Ishida Uryuu appeared from behind the closed door followed by Yourichi. "Inoue believed that we were wrong on judging them, put all the blame for all the things that were happening and she thought of us as being self-righteous beings. She grew compassionate about that Espada Ulquiorra, which I still fail to see any reason to it at all."

Everyone in the room grew silent, there were so many things to say on that matter, but hopefully they all hoped for Hitsugaya to wake up and inform them about whatever he had seen in Hueco Mundo. It would be a horrible experience to relieve it, but they had to know every single detail of the newly form nemesis that would soon plan something bad for Soul Society, perhaps using the icy captain as a tool of some sort.

"Tch, I'll have to go back up there again to see if I can find anything along with Nel." The tanned woman expressed. "She says that there's some ruins we should look into, but maybe we could get Ichigo's help on getting information from that demented Mayuri or records allowing us to see everything collected from Las Noches."

The four men nodded their heads in agreement at her own statement, there was enough reasoning in it as well. Despite the fact that the older Quincy was still awry about helping the shinigamis and Soul Society, but if that world was to be messed with then the balance would be disrupted. Causing calamity wasn't something that Karakura could endure again after almost ten years, or other type of crisis because then maybe it would be the end to the town for good.

"Going to Soul Society is going to be interesting." Uryuu pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, and grinned a little bit. "I have a score to settle with Abarai-san."

"That's my boy!" Isshin slapped him in the back, nearly knocking him down.

"What the hell! I am not you boy nor are you my father!" The dark haired man shouted at him, and punched him in the gut. "No wonder Kurosaki hates you most of the time. I am going home, I have an early shift tomorrow at the hospital."

"That boy is still as miserable and insufferable as always." His own father commented, as he too made his exit out of the store.

+--+

_This is chapter six everyone, thanks for still sticking around. I'll like to thank **Toushi-chan**, **Tsukihime nee**, **Sonata Ann**, and **kwisy** for commenting on the previous chapter. I am content with the feedback I get back, so thanks everyone and if I could give you a large piece of cake I would--trust me. Well, yesterday was my birthday and I didn't really work much on this chapter until late at night. So, sorry if there's some things that are unexplained well and such--but feel free to send me a PM if you have questions. I wasn't going to post it today because I feel that there's stuff that needs to be more detailed, but then I kept thinking; in the end I just simply said 'what the hell, give them the chapter', so that's it. Oh, and I don't even know why in the hell I put the bloody 'Romeo and Juliet' stuff here, somehow I just wanted to use that to convey the slight attraction between Hitsugaya and Karin on the little flashbacks. At some point they'll stop though, but I can't promise anything at all.  
_

_The action so far, I know that everyone was like 'Toshiro isn't dead, right?' and worried, but no. Come on, I couldn't bring myself to kill him like that because I would be really upset with myself mainly. So, he's still alive as you could read of course, and he'll stay that way. Hopefully it was not an awkward scene or anything at the beginning, but I had a hard time deciding on the events really--so after much typing and deleting that's what you got. And, I really wanted to get out of the depressing scenes as well--so I just begun to add some slightly changes to the original plot, which is still in my brain and is not willing to come out. Those Orihime fans, you'll hate me for making her a traitor, but I just despise the character so badly. No, there is no Ori/Ulqui going on here, and as the story goes on it would be revealed as to the real reason why she and Ulquiorra disappeared. Sighs, this is going to be a long Author's Note here. What is actually going on that no one is telling? Why was there a meeting suddenly called? Why is no one investigating? So many questions, I know, I know it would be confusing at some point but bare with me. I am going to start to pick up more lighter scenes 'cos I am over with the depressing stuff and I think I made a few of you cry--which I do apologize but it was simply part of my story here. Anyways, I am dragging this long enough so I am out! Like it? Review it. Hate it? That's alright.  
_


	7. Holding On Again

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach or any of its characters. I could do the most daring thing ever, and will never own it. And NO, don't dare me to do something--trust me.

**Summary:** I feel that everyone by now has gotten the point--so I'll stop posting the summary.

Well, this chapter is dedicated to **Tsukihime nee** for wishing me a Happy Birthday! Thanks, hope you like this chapter.

**The Bridge Of Silence**

+---+

+Holding On Again+

_The clamp feeling of the nose did not do well or helped at all, unable to provide oxygen with the stuffy nose at the moment. She groaned in frustration, the flue surely failed to become one of the greatest things in the world in order to miss school. Her body felt groggy, as though she had spent an entire day out on the pouring rain that continuously pounded against her window. _

"_Kurosaki, I brought soup." Toshiro entered the room, which felt extremely warm--the kind of weather he disliked so much. Except that, it had been his fault for not taking care of her properly the previous day during a fight against a Hollow. _

_Karin turned to look at him, a tiny smile spread around her face--she didn't know if it was the cold medicine, the illness or whatever, but she wanted him there. His figure sauntered closer to her and set the plate down on the nightstand, and sat on the small spot besides her. _

"_What's with that sappy look on your face?" She questioned, pulling her arm out of the covers and reached out to touch the contours of his face. Her thumb graze his fair skin, it seemed strange to see that type of expression painted on his face, those green eyes looking as though there was some blame inside of him--it was not a good feeling. _

_Why was he always risking himself in order to protect her, always treating her with so much care and love that it hurt to see that hurtful expression. The usual pompous side of him never faltered in any circumstances, now regardless of how many times she would tell him that it was not his fault, it seemed as though there was a void growing inside of himself. _

"_Its nothing, just rest Kurosaki." He muttered thru gritted teeth, hating to be reminded of his childhood friend. All the past seemed haunting, carving like a deep flesh wound that never allowed itself to heal at all despite the five years that had been put between that time and the present. "I was supposed to watch out for you Karin, and I didn't keep my word on it." Toshiro's head lowered on her palm, his cheek seeking out her warmth for comfort. _

_The unusual cold captain felt weak, for the first time revealing the darkness that his soul had suddenly been drowned out in suddenly burst like a bubble. The dark memories from the time when Aizen had revealed his true colours, that was a bullet piercing a human and killing it, shattering many lives and building doubts. _

_He rested his face on her chest, smelling the fresh laundered clothes and feeling her warmth wrap itself like a bubble around him. Kurosaki Karin was a safe person, one who understood what it was like to lose so many things in life, but despite that, she was still willing to stand up to anything that came her way. _

"_In life there will be times in which neither you or I could help the fate that awaits us both, so please stop blaming yourself." Karin ran her fingers in his soft white hair, allowing the cold that came from his body to make her feel better. His breath was hot against her chest, it was so warm and welcoming she closed her eyes. "I blame no one because you were there to protect me when I fell. I am not as strong as you when it comes to dealing with Hollows, but I am really glad that you are here now." She sat up and grabbed his face with both of her hands. Karin was panting, the cold was not normal at all and she felt that it might be pneumonia or something because she had been around ice for so long. _

_The white haired captain looked at her dark eyes, seeking and reaching out to pull her into his arms as their lips crushed against each other. She asked for entrance, eliciting a moan from the male as he ran his fingertips on her face and traced her face. They fought against each other as she begun to roam his chest and she began to unbutton his black shirt, but he stopped her suddenly. _

"_You're sick, we shouldn't do something like this." Toshiro breathed, resting his head on her shoulder and breathed heavily. "Go back to sleep." _

"_Hai, Toshiro." She laid back down and immediately fell asleep._

+---+

The faint sound of the birds chirping echoed in the large room, nothing but the thick silence seemed to be getting to Toshiro as he opened his eyes to look up at the ceiling. The lighter colours, the daylight--everything that was Soul Society seemed new once again after spending so long staring at darkened skies. He stood up slowly, since he was still not allowed to move so much due to the fatal injuries that he had acquired from Hueco Mundo, and he was not liking his rest at all.

Having fought life and death only a week ago, he wasn't allowed to see anyone for the time being because he was still in some type of danger of getting infected. The least of his worries were his injuries though, the thought of going back to work was the thought that really got to him because he had been missing a lot of things for so long now. Mostly, the part that worried him was to see his fiancée again and meeting his child as well.

"Hitsugaya-taichou, Kurosaki-taichou is here to see you." The caretaker announced, as the orange haired captain entered the premises followed by his two children.

"Toshiro, finally up and ready?" He smirked at him and took a seat on the cushions that were there on the floor. "Sleeping on a futon helps with some pain, or at least I think."

Toshiro only shook his head at the strangeness that sometimes he would say, but he was certainly glad that at least he was acting normal unlike everyone who worried about a lot of things regarding him.

"I told you Kurosaki, its Hitsugaya-taichou to you." The icy captain expressed. "Is there something you wish to tell me now? Or do I have to go and find out myself from Matsumoto?"

Ichigo furrowed his brow a little because it was hard to really say what there was to be said about a future that for the moment seemed uncertain, everything was too chaotic to even realize the truth about anything. Sighing, he looked over at his two children as they sat there silently out in the porch. Why was everything so hard to say? Simple words could be useful, but it would only make whatever there was to say feel slightly threatening. Going about it on the long explaining process won't do any good.

"Everything is going haywire here Toshiro." The orange haired captain expressed, while looking at his future brother-in-law. "I feel like someone we _knew_ did this to you." His voice was hard on that last statement, it had taken everything for him to say it clearly to Rukia after finding out more about what had happen during the kidnapping of Hitsugaya.

"What the hell do you mean? Matsumoto--" Toshiro raised his voice, but Ichigo kept him quiet because no one was to know about it just yet.

"It isn't her, I swear that it isn't her. She--Rangiku felt responsible for not being able to protect you back in Hueco Mundo." Ichigo's voice suddenly wavered as the painful tales of that day seemed to only sink in deeper, but he tried not to look sad. "Shit, it is my fault for not going with you while I had promised my sister to keep you. I--"

"Don't apologize for something that neither you or I could stop." Toshiro expressed as he sat up slowly and put his hand on the 9th squad captain's shoulder. "If both of us were to be captured, then Karin and your wife would've been in pain at the same time. If one is in pain, two would be a hell that we would wake up to. I blame no one but myself for being careless, but there are many things in life that happen."

Ichigo sighed and then smiled a little, going back to look at his two children and then remind himself that Hitsugaya was yet to meet his child. The sight of two white haired souls was comical, now Ukitake-taichou would have a reason to continue giving candy to the two.

"So, are you ready to meet your son today?" He changed the subject, feeling like the morose words were getting to him and he hated that feeling.

"Tatsuya, Karin said that he looks like me but obviously the Kurosaki genes run deep inside of him." Hitsugaya mused while he looked at Kurosaki Kazuki and Amaya, smiling despite the fact that the two were just like their father. "I missed a lot in his exceptionally young life that I won't repay back, so there's a lot of things that I need to go back into."

"Trust me, babies will be a hell for sure. Except that children bring a lot in your life just like Kazuki and Amaya, but you'll do fine I think." He grinned and patted him in the back. "Kazuki, Amaya come on don't be rude and at least greet Toshiro. Sometimes they can be really rude like that."

Toshiro shook his head. "Obviously they had to be Kurosaki children." That earned him a glare as the two children entered and bombarded him with a lot of questions.

Somehow though, it was not so bad being part of that family because they were extremely close and unlike the life that he was once a part of. Leaving his grandmother had been a hard choice, losing Hinamori had been the worst of them--except that now things weren't so bad.

+---+

The Kurosaki manor, which had been built recently because the Kurosaki's had been made into a noble family, something rather rare and unheard of. For Hisagi Shuuhei, it was a rather intimidating thing to say the least. It was still a bit new to him to understand that his girlfriend was actually a noble now, though he tried not to pay much attention to it since neither Yuzu, Karin, or his captain even cared to much for such titles at all.

He paced around the room he had taken up, at the request of his captain because no one really lived here, and he was getting tired of the room he held in the 9th squad--adding a bonus Yuzu lived here as well. So, what would he do now? It was crazy trying to even realize that Captain Kurosaki Ichigo had actually accepted on having Yuzu marry him, the only problem was that how in the hell was he supposed to ask?

"Shuuhei, are you alright?" Yuzu entered, as she was carrying some books in her hands.

"Uh--yeah I am fine. Doing more research for Ukitake-taichou?" He questioned, while scratching the back of his neck in response of trying to hide the ring on his hand.

The golden haired shinigami set the books on the small table in the room, and dusted her robes in order to remove the dust she had gotten from the library. She then looked at her 69 tattooed face shinigami boyfriend and saw how he was not acting like himself, but she was not into questioning much.

"Not really, I was just looking up at some more Kidou theories and old demon arts. Ukitake-taichou seemed to be interested on looking at ancient arts that have been disappearing." She informed him, while walking over to him as he continued to hide something from her. "Are you sure that you're alright?"

Hisagi was trapped, acting weird was obvious to raise some questioning from her. It would be now or never, but he had to do it.

"Yuzu, there's something I would like to ask." He said, while watching her respond. She gave him a nod to continue. "First, I know that I am not really that much of a romantic type of guy. Secondly, I went to the lengths of proving myself that I was more then just a simple Casanova and all of that s-crap. Kurosaki Yuzu, will you be willing to spend your eternity with me?"

There wasn't going to be the whole cliché type of thing at all, but he felt that she wouldn't like that either--so he resorted on the 'unromantic' way. Yuzu was speechless, surely it would be expected sooner and didn't know what to think at all. Her brother and twin sister had actually accepted him, which made this moment better.

"I--I am speechless." She threw her arms around him and kissed him in the cheek. "I can't be more happier then I am now. So, I will marry you." She looked into his warm eyes and kissed him warmly, allowing him to trace his tongue over her lips. Tasting the cherry flavour of her chapstick and the faint taste of tea in her mouth, she was sweet like no other. Her scent was of silk and a mix of coconuts, such relaxing smell that could not beat anyone at all.

"Hopefully neither of you eat each other's faces." Karin stepped inside, while holding Tatsuya in her arms and threw a sly glance at the couple. "So, I am guessing you didn't have to resort to the 'roses and candles' shit, right?"

"Karin-chan!" Yuzu hugged her sister and kissed her nephew in the head. "Watch your mouth while around Tatsuya-chan, he'll start cursing as well."

The long haired shinigami laughed at her sister and smiled widely, today felt like a new beginning because today was the day in which Toshiro was due to return home again in her arms. The happiness flowed around her like no other, and it was slightly sickening as well.

"Glad you got asked this morning? Ichi-nii would've arranged it to have this made officially, since he knew a long time ago that it might happen." Karin informed, as the child begun to tug on her hair and giggle. "I would congratulate you on this and that, but enough of the happiness because I hate sugar coating things."

Yuzu could not help but smile at the fact that she was back to her normal self, being completely arrogant and mean about a lot of things surely seemed normal. Hisagi groaned only, having her back to that back-talking-girl was not something he looked forward too--but at the same time it was a change because seeing her depress was worse.

"Keep talking shrimp, then maybe we'll get somewhere on this subject." He smirked a little, trying his best to poke fun at her in order to prove if she was really alright.

"Oh, really now? As long as I remember I had grown at least a few inches more taller over the past five years. I don't think I am qualified to hold onto that title." She retorted as she opened the door. "Mess with me I'll fucking kick your ass again, unless you don't want that _future brother-in-law_." She laughed as she walked off, leaving Hisagi slightly aghast at the fact that he was going to be related to her in a way.

"Karin-chan, don't scare him away." He heard Yuzu say as she chased after her twin sister.

+---+

The taste of mint was always welcomed as Tatsuki tasted it in her mouth, the ice cream was the only thing that she could think about for over the past ten minutes. Bliss, it was pure bliss as she smiled contently while still digging on the large pint of ice cream. Renji could only stare at it wide mouthed, how could a woman her size eat that whole thing in only a matter of minutes.

"That's just plain disgusting, how can you eat a pint of ice cream all on your own." He muttered, trying his best to restrain himself from throwing up at the sight. "Adding sweet beans to it, that is just--there isn't even a word to say on that."

Tatsuki glared at him and threw the spoon at his face, though he managed to dodge it in time before being hit by it squarely in the face. Pregnant was a state new for her, everything that involved a pregnancy was not fun at all--though she had to admit sending her husband to find the most crazy foods around Soul Society surely beat anything in the world.

"Honey, don't be so mean like that." She started to cry, something that the red head didn't like at all as he quickly stood up and hugged his wife.

Hormones surely didn't do well--one minute women were angry and the next they were so chipper, it was like being stuck with a bunch of people who had split personality disorders. Sighing, he just soothed her while rubbing her back and kissing her temple.

"I'm sorry, I am really sorry. Think about it though, that kind of thing is slightly sickening you know." He attempted to smile, but only earning a punch in the gut for it.

"You are a moron Renji, be a little more considerate at the fact that I am the one who is carrying this baby in my stomach! Don't talk to me." She stormed out of the room looking extremely infuriated at him.

Perhaps the couch would be a better place to sleep at night for at least one night, before being yelled at and cursed at for being the cause of her being pregnant. At the same time though, he was so happy to know that soon he'll be taking care of a child in his arms and protect him from whatever that caused pain to him.

"A father, huh?" He thought out loud.

"Have you decided on a name yet?" Ichigo entered and smirked at him. Renji turned red because he hadn't really talked about his child at all, mainly with all the chaos happening around him.

"Ah--with everything going on. No, plus she's fucking pissed as we speak." He inquired, dropping his head and avoiding looking at the captain.

Ichigo widened his eyes for a moment, but then smiled contently seeing that it was obviously the feeling of being new to the whole parenting thing. Only eight years ago had that stage only started, it had been unexpected for him--somehow it was great though. Perhaps the parenting books would help his friend.

"You'll do fine Renji, its not rocket science." Ichigo mused, taking a seat on the small couch in the large room.

"I don't think I will. How--I don't even know what the hell I am supposed to do." Renji suddenly began to panic after thinking over it, it was sudden and unexpected for the orange haired male. "The idea now is starting to scare the hell out of me you know. I've never had to take care of anyone, let alone a child that is on its way."

The red headed shinigami was pacing around, his rumbled thoughts were getting to him as the feeling was being allowed to sink itself in. At first, it had been great and all happiness around--now it seemed like a terrible hell was going to start. The doors to the Gates of Hell had been opened, how could he feel responsible for another life?

Ichigo grumbled under his breath, the panicking of his friend was seriously annoying as he watched him pace back and forth muttering so many things. Deciding it would be best to knock him out of that thinking, he stood up and went to punch him right in the side of his face.

"What the fuck was that for?" Renji shouted angrily, rubbing the side of his face.

"Renji, parenting is not an easy thing. I can tell you that right now, trust me you are much more older then I am, but it isn't difficult." Ichigo groaned. "You'll think that everything is a living hell and all of that shit, but trust me, it would get better. I felt the same way because I wasn't ready to be a father, but look at me now. Rukia and I have two children together, both of us are doing great. You'll do fine Renji, you're just over thinking about it."

"Kurosaki-taichou, Hisagi-fukutaichou is looking for you." A lower seat appeared suddenly.

"Alright, I'll be there." Ichigo sighed and turned to look at his friend again. "You'll do fine, really. I'm not going to apologize for punching you, that's only a favour I am doing this for you."

Renji stood aghast, allowing that comment to sink in as Ichigo walked off. He shook his head, clearing his head was seriously something he needed to do, and realized that he was right about it.

+---+

The white haired captain stared out the window, leaning against a stack of pillows while he thought about everything that suddenly came out of the shadows. After all these time, he never truly believed that Inoue Orihime could easily turn against them--then again he could have guessed something like that because of the situation ten years ago. The memory of her had become slightly forgotten, mostly after she had gone missing and everyone had declared her dead right on the spot.

He remembered, his fight with that Espada had been overwhelming, she had strength that could not compare his to hers at all. The gate to Hueco Mundo opened, she along with that fourth Espada and Kurosaki appeared. Tears streamed down here face, the shock and horror of the bloody battle in her eyes--he knew the fear that ran inside of her and the blame that appeared on her face.

At first, it seemed like a normal shock at first, but suddenly he remembered that she shouted 'Stop!' so loudly. The hateful expression that appeared was shocking itself, she began to help that Espada and then suddenly, he remembered he had his own battle to return. Toshiro hadn't known what had happen afterwards, only the dreadful silence fell on the large battle field--the confirmation of the deaths of some Espadas, Aizen, Ichimaru, and Tosen--no one even cheered or anything. It was dead, everyone stood there as the sun begun to arise from the horizon.

Under the beautiful dawn, the horrid sight laid as he pulled away after killing the powerful Espada that dared to fight with him. A shaky breath escaped his lips, that memory alone made him realize how much he had at the moment. Losing everything would only bring his own death because he knew that losing Karin--that was enough to make the world stop spinning.

"Toshiro!" Karin exclaimed as she fell into her lover's arms. He was shocked at first, but allowed himself to pull out of that memory.

"Karin." He whispered as he took her face on his hands, and examined it carefully. Those onyx eyes always managed to shock him, the smile that which he loved and had missed. She was the sole reason why he wanted to exist at the moment, pushing aside that long battle and the scars, he smiled at her softly.

The dark haired shinigami smiled and hugged him again, hugging him as though there was no tomorrow because there was still a lingering fear of losing him again. Karin wasn't disposed on thinking about it, but seeing him alive and moving, smiling and speaking made her realize how vulnerable the situation had become. Tatsuya laughed cheerfully, staring at his father's eyes and stretching out his smalls arms at him.

Toshiro stared in awe, the small child that looked like him was there smiling at him and reaching out for him. Carefully, he took his son on his arms and held him at arms length. The baby giggles were new to him, the snowy white hair was a reminder that he was actually there breathing, but why was this sudden warm feeling coming to him so suddenly.

"Tatsuya." He whispered, afraid that this might be simply a dream and the child would suddenly disappear.

"Yep, that's him." Karin sat besides him, while resting her chin on his shoulder. "I told you he looked like you, but he's still got my arrogant genes running inside of him." She kissed him in his cheek and smiled again.

"He's--amazing." The white haired captain couldn't express his love for his son at all. The usual cold captain felt the happiness run in him, everything suddenly fell into place as he stared at his offspring--that felt like an offensive term. No, that was his future there and the second person that would depend on him to teach him.

Karin allowed the tears to flow down her face, she buried her face on his shoulder and allowed the salty tears to moisten his robe. Toshiro sat his child on his lap, allowing him to play with the small toy that he had on his hand, while he turned slightly to look at his fiancée. There was so much that he wanted to say, ask, express---anything, but it seemed not enough to comfort those long months.

"Sorry, I shouldn't start crying like a baby." Karin laughed, and stood up to walk towards the shoji screen and stared out into the sunlight that soaked the greenery. "I would've come sooner today, but I think Ichi-nii was here to speak to you."

"Ah, yeah he was here." Toshiro replied, shifting on his spot. "I--what should I say to you? Its hard enough for me to express my feelings, yet the pain somehow becomes heavier inside of me." He was confused for a moment, he stared at her and then at his son. Two distinctive people that suddenly felt so far away from him, even though they were there in the room present and breathing.

Karin continued to stare, her eyes watching the bamboo fountain moving down as it was filled. Silently, a conflict formed inside of her head because she knew the drawbacks of those who came back from war or whatever other conflict they would go through, he was never going to be the same. Shutting her eyes tightly, the void and happiness were two feelings that should be illegal to have at once--nothing good was bound to come out of it.

"There's nothing for me or you to say that would help the process be much more easier." She turned to look at him. "Lets--lets not talk about this alright." He sighed and attempted to stand up, but only being held down by her. "You shouldn't restrain yourself so much Toshiro, besides, Tatsuya looks like he wants to play with you."

How was she always acting so strong? Hitsugaya found that hard to understand, why she always acted like nothing was wrong and rarely cried about anything. Of course, Karin held the same pride as him, but hers was like that after losing her mother. He shook his head, while looking at his son and smiled at him--he was far too young to be put in a painful situation.

"Things won't be easy, are you sure that you'll be fine with that?"

"No, but as long as you are here I will, I will be more then satisfied with that."

"I won't argue with that then, but what now?" Hitsugaya questioned.

"What now?" Karin pondered, but suddenly recalling that there was a life to get back to. "You have to return to work, I have to return to mine in my division, and we both have to start acting like parents. And, I would--um--like to get married soon." She turned away as the blush on her face appeared, it was sudden and she usually didn't demand things upfront like she was at the moment.

Toshiro smirked at her, and looked down at his son. "We're engaged, so its obvious that it is expected to get married." Though, she was going to become Hitsugaya Karin, that was strange. "You'll no longer be a Kurosaki."

"So, its not like I wanted to be in the first place." She snapped at him. "Besides, I don't want to be addressed as 'Kurosaki-sama' all of my life you know. Its annoying, plus I much rather be a Hitsugaya. There'll be enough Kurosaki children to keep the name, at least Kazuki is going to keep our last name alive."

"That's true." He thought for a second. "I'll allow our son to keep both surnames then." It was final, no argument at all as she stood there gaping at him.

Somehow though, parenting had suddenly hit the usual icy captain. Despite the many injuries, betrayals, and everything that had taken place didn't really change him--no it was the fact that he was a parent now. Ichigo mentioned that babies were difficult, but as he looked at his son, there couldn't possibly be something that would be difficult about him--until Tatsuya had put drool all over his white robe and the toy.

Karin started to laugh, it was quite cute to see father and son like that, especially when Tatsuya had drooled all over his father.

"This is not funny, at all." The white haired captain glared at his fiancée.

"Sorry, you'll get used to it though." The dark haired shinigami smiled, and tossed him the towel that was on the container at the other end of the room. "Its almost time to eat, so I'll start teaching you about our child and the laws of parenting."

Toshiro, in spite of how serious the situation was, smiled contently because there was so much that he needed to learn because of this child. His smile, the sparkle in his eyes--everything about him seemed to only bring out some hope in himself. He knew that growing stronger, forgetting the past and its pains would make the present better--yet, even if the void was present, there would always be a time in which it would not matter at all.

"Now, isn't this sweet." Matsumoto entered. "Welcome back, Hitsugaya-taichou."

He smiled at her and looked at his son, picking him up again up in the air. "It feels good to be back, you better start to stretch out your hand--there's a lot of reports to do."

"Aw, Taichou!" The strawberry blond woman whined.

Karin broke into a laughter, smiling happily because it felt like things were going back to somewhat of a normal stand for the time being.

_Its chapter 7 already--wow! I am pleased to say that I am really glad I actually started on this story and all of that. Thanks to **Tsukihim nee, happygirl24, MoonDrake** (also for alerting)**, and Toushi-chan** for reviewing. Come on guys, keep on reviewing 'cos I really appreciate how people respond to this story, even if you express how much you hate it or blah-blah! Anyways, to say the least I am not really content with this chapter--some of it I am and some of it I am not, like the closing to this chapter. Its hard really, I mean how could I really express the missing links and such between Karin and Toshiro after being apart for so long. I don't want them to be separated from each other again, it was extremely hard to write them apart from each other. Sighs, but at least he's back and my fellow readers sighed in relieved on the previous chapter after finding out that he was alive. Anyways, I am nearing to the part in which Renji gets to be a father--I have to think a name for his child you know. Gosh, that's going to be a little difficult. _

_On with this note, oh yes well I know that it would be weird for someone to become noble, but in a way I could actually see Ichigo, Yuzu, and Karin being of noble blood 'cos of their father--even though I can't prove it or really make the statement concrete. So, I guess I'll explain later why they were made nobles, so don't freak out or bash the idea, alright. And I really didn't like how the scene in which Hisagi proposed looked, but I am not really into the very cliche scenes at all--just trying to live it like that. Orihime fans, I won't apologize for making her a 'turncoat' as one of my readers mentioned. I want to explore more sides of a lot of characters if I can, and I really don't like her character. I think I've said this on the previous chapter, but I'll keep on explaining why she went to the other side of the spectrum. Well, what does everyone think of the name _Yozora no Kawa_ it means "River of the night sky"--I think. I thought that was a good name for Karin's zanpaktou, still working on the shape and its forms. As for Yuzu's, I am still on the works. Tell me what you think on that idea. Well I am dragging this far too long, so I'll start typing the next chapter. Like it? Review it. Hate it? That's alright. _


	8. Silver Wrapping

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. Perhaps when I rule the world--nah! I would not want to, besides I can't replace Kubo-sensei!!

**Summary:** I think you know by now, if not--go back to previous chapters.

* * *

**The Bridge Of Silence**

+---+

+Silver Wrapping+

_The echoing silence, so serene and peaceful it would be for anyone, at the moment though it felt like a agonizing silence in which everyone only ignored as they tried to recover from the long battle. Wounds, physical scars and emotional scars would need to be taken care of sooner then later. Ichigo stood, slightly limping as he walked towards Rukia, whom was aiding Toshiro after he had landed on the ground and collapsed. _

"_Hitsugaya-taichou!" She looked at all the cuts, spots on his hakama were stained with his blood and the enemy. _

"_Its fine, don't worry." His voice was still, but didn't bother to look at her. _

_Ichigo could not believe what had just happen in only a matter of hours, the world looked as though it could had ended easily. Why? Why had all of these happen over something that didn't even really mean anything at all, or held a certain importance at all. The Hougyoku could not be used, for its power had been sealed--or at least that had been the knowledge that which he had acquire from Urahara. _

"_Ichigo!" Rukia shouted his name, as he looked up and saw her violet orbs staring at him. He reached out with his hand to touch her face, to see and prove that she was actually standing over him. A smiled spread around her face, a happy yet sad smile, it seemed unfitting for her--but this battle itself seemed to be anticlimactic in a slight sense. _

"_I'm here, midget. I'm not going anywhere." The orange haired male smiled, looking at her and holding her chin with his hand. She was there, not leaving or scared at how he had used his Hollow powers in order to kill Aizen. _

_For a few months, all of it seemed like many years had passed from the day he had gained his shinigami powers up until the present, it was strange. Ichigo couldn't forget, Rukia was the sole reason why his world became more bright and filled with more moments that which he partook with her. She was like a saviour for him, pulling him from that depressive state of mind after locking himself away after his mother was murdered. _

_This war, was there a sole point to it? It seemed strange, so trivial as he pulled her into a hug--ignoring her pleads for a few seconds until she broke down, and started to cry. Despite all of the bad things that each of them had suffered, only when they were together was there no regrets or sad feelings. _

"_Ichigo…" She whispered, still crying and unable to break away from his iron grip hug. She smelled in his scent, allowing her mind to only filled with his warmth and sincerity as he looked into her eyes. _

_Why, why had he had to be such a perfect teenage boy? No, he was never a boy, but a man with strong beliefs and emotions that could never be changed at all. For so long now, her emotions and fears had been buried deep in a sacred coffin inside of her heart--not moving or being bothered at all, but somehow this man managed to play with her buried emotions. _

"_Rukia, never leave me or ever let go." He hugged her tighter, and closed his eyes to forget this battle, to move on and never look back again--despite the changes that had brought upon their lives. _

"_I won't, I promise." The petite shinigami stared up at the orange haired male in his eyes, longing and seeking out something inside of them. No fear, no worries, only a unknown happiness and sudden protectiveness showed in his eyes. "I love you, Ichigo." The female shinigami crashed her lips against the substitute shinigami, forgetting that right now everyone was in pain and wounded. _

_Kuchiki Rukia had wanted this for so long now, dreaming and picturing it in her head was nothing compared or could ever come close to the rushing feeling. Everything, his lips against hers and his touch was electrifying. _

"_I love you too, Rukia." He smiled, and continued to hold her close while the rest of the world seemed to be at a painful loss. _

+---+

Karin opened her eyes, the sun shinning down on her eyes as she stared blankly at the ceiling of her room while so many thoughts crossed together. A frown appeared on her young face, thoughts crossing each other so early in the morning never faired well in the day, nor were they to her liking at all. A pair of arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to a warm body.

"Toshiro, I have to get up." Karin murmured as she turned to face him.

"I know, but just stay here for a minute. Please." Toshiro had his eyes closed, a serene look was placed neatly on his mature face--yet it felt like there was a lost emotion there as well. The tone of his voice was that of longing, a loss in which sometimes everyone found themselves in--that vulnerability.

"Okay, I will." She expressed, while running her finger on the scar that ran across his collar bone. At that lithe touch, he opened his eyes and looked down at her dark ones, the expression on her face was grim and sad at the same time.

"Don't--don't have that expression on your face Karin." He said, letting her go and getting up quickly. "I should get ready, there's a lot of papers that need to be done." She watched him walk off to the bathroom and slamming the door shut behind him.

There was obviously nothing wrong with that kind of behaviour at all, it only just hurt seeing him feel pain and the hollow expression that had been painted suddenly on his face. How badly had things gone in Hueco Mundo? There were so many things that Karin wished to ask--there really was never a good time though.

After three weeks, it seemed as though life was back to normal for Toshiro. Going to work, yelling at Matsumoto for not doing her work, finishing reports about his squad, evaluating his squad's ability, being with Karin, enjoying life with both her and Tatsuya. Somehow though, none of it felt like it was actually connecting him with anything at all.

Everything was the same, all the emotions bore with every ounce of life on them, but the fearful and frightening feeling of losing himself to the darkness wasn't so welcoming at all. Seeing Karin's hurt expression made it worse, seeing his child smile unknowingly about what was happening felt confusing--why? Having to feel paranoid about the slightest noises in the dark made him laugh at himself, it was stupid and extremely childish, but the fear of that darkness was ebbed at the back of his conscious.

The frustration that he had wasn't welcomed, having to feel so weak and fragile was new to him but why couldn't he tell it to anyone? For the moment, he stared out the window of the 10th squad office watching an unknown object while having those confusing thoughts drowning him whole.

"Toshiro…" He heard his name being called, as he turned his 'former' childhood friend stood there gazing at him. That always pleasant smile plastered on her face, the sickly looking shinigami wanted to say something as her mouth opened a bit, but it seemed as though there was nothing to say.

"What is it Hinamori?" His voice remained monotone, no feeling or anything to it--just plain.

"I--I…" She grimaced at the lack of words. "I'm sorry." She finally spat out, but that only made the white haired captain scoff . There was a long lasting unforgivable strain there, past and present always collided each time he met her.

"It's no longer your place to worry over me. You know that Hinamori, yet you act as though everything is clear between us like it was in the past." His words were cold, sharp as they pierced the delicate skin in her chest, wounding her heart. Toshiro, though, was not bothered by the reaction she had on her pallid face. "Sorry, sorry…why does everyone repeat that fucking word all the time? You are not sorry, _Momo_, you will never be. Don't ever parade around my squad to tell me you are sorry, please. Don't bother."

The former 5th squad fuku-taichou grimaced, taken slightly aback at his outburst like that without having any regret on his face at all. Her former Hitsugaya Toshiro was no longer present, the same watermelon-loving child had turned into a tall, masculine man before her eyes. His eyes started to hold kindness and love towards a certain former human girl, but for now, those ocean green eyes were hollow and very much empty.

"Shiro-chan…" Her trembling lips showed that she was about to cry.

"I've told you a million times already Hinamori, its Hitsugaya-taichou to you." Toshiro glared at her and stood up. "What do you want? Tell me, because I am tired of whatever fucking charade you like to hide underneath Hinamori. What? Want to tell me that you still hate me for landing a blow to that bastard Aizen?" He was shouting by the end of his sentence, making Hinamori flinch at his words.

"NO!" The fragile shinigami shouted. "I don't want to talk about it anymore. He was--he was my dear captain. Why can't you understand that? You--you promised." Tears were falling down her face, but Toshiro remained unmoving by them.

"Just go back to the fourth squad Hinamori, please." He walked past her, and headed out of the 10th squad barracks, hoping to clear his mind of whatever stupidity was running inside of it.

Sometimes he wondered the reasons why his old childhood friend had fallen in love with the traitor, being almost killed by him, but still in love with him. It bothered Toshiro, had been for so long now it was impossible not to stop and think about it from time to time.

His head was hazy, every rational thought couldn't come to him at all--it was all confusing and he hated that feeling. The weakness he refused to show was coming to him, so longing and extremely close--he had to see her, kiss her, feel her close to him in order to forget that the past existed and only the present mattered.

+---+

"Kurosaki-san, what are we to do now?" A few lower seat members stood there, each holding wooden shinais in their hands after a long few hours of practice.

"Put them away, I think its obvious though." Karin stated the obvious, but everyone knew not to question her motives at all since their captain was the elder Kurosaki member of the family.

"Hai!" They all said in unison and started to pick up the mess.

Karin nodded and started to walk off, trying to find a peace in her head while trying to avoid thinking about Toshiro's worries, but it was a very difficult task at hand. From the weird behaviour, to the way sometimes he stared off in space, and that was becoming slightly worrying.

The extreme silence was becoming too much for her, for so long now she had pictured his return and having him around once again--somehow it was no longer the same at all. Karin couldn't understand of course, but why was he not talking about it? She remembered that she had spilled her pains to him, especially the one she had carried since she had been a small child.

"What are you doing Karin?" Ichigo's voice interrupted her restless thoughts.

"Ah, nothing. Just thinking, why is that illegal now?" She turned to look at her orange haired brother, whom only glared at her.

"No, everyone has their right to think about whatever the fuck they want." Ichigo scowled at her, and then stared out into the open training field. "How is he?" That seemed the thing that she didn't want to go back to think about again, but it was inevitable at all.

"I don't know." She answered, trying her best to come up with a less vague answer then that. "He's not himself at all, everything about him is empty and--and I don't know if I can continue pretending that it doesn't bother me at all." A hollow laugh escaped her lips, one of pain and agony that was buried inside of her.

The orange haired captain looked at her face, the sad expression she had was the same when he had told her that he was going to die soon about nine years ago. Despite the smile, it showed only the void in which her soul had been buried in for so long, and it hurt him to see his young sister like that. He swore to himself not to ever allow anyone do something to her in order to have that look on her face again.

Ichigo cursed inwardly, having that stupid white haired captain act like that wasn't making his sister happy--so he needed to do something about it quickly. The sooner, the better.

"I have to go for now Karin, are you going to be alright?" He put his hand on her shoulder, but she didn't bother to react or look at him.

"Sometimes I wonder that myself, don't you?" Her voice was at a whispering level, the one and only voice that would only be tainted with so much worry and pain. Karin turned to look at her brother. "Sorry, I shouldn't bother you with foolish things Ichi-nii. Go, please go back to your work." The odd pleading, the caring attitude--everything at the moment was unfitting for her.

"Watch yourself Karin." He forewarned, and then disappeared quickly without saying anything else.

+---+

The 13th squad seemed silent from the outer parts, inside though was a different story as a war of words between Sentaurou and Kiyone as to who was the one to take care of their taichou's important task for the day. Ukitake-taichou stared at the two, quite unsure of himself is he could exactly do about the situation seeing that the two were always at it, even after they had been married for almost six years. The jovial captain, simply smiled sheepishly at the two--hoping behind that smile that someone would come and put a stop to the two.

"Ukitake-taichou." The said man looked up at the person who had called upon him, only a worried expression seem to register on the older captain's face.

"Toshiro-kun?" He questioned, while looking at his fellow white haired captain. That grim, lifeless expression was extremely uncomfortable to look at.

Ukitake had known that somehow something like that would come out of the younger captain, even as the fact given that Hitsugaya Toshiro often did nor reveal his pain or worries in front of others like any normal being would do.

"Sentauro, Kiyone--please go do what I sent the both of two to do." His voice was firm, no bitter to it, just the one that he had to use towards the two. At the same moment, the two stopped bickering and saluted their captain, then running out still screaming at each other about making it first and all of that.

Sighing, the 13th squad captain smiled candidly at his visitor, and pointed to the cushion on the other side of the small table in which he sat at. Toshiro didn't say anything, except taking his seat and looking around the small room in which the older captain enjoyed spending a lot of his time in while checking his paperwork. His thoughts had led him here, so what now?

For a brief moment of silence, Toshiro sat there staring at the table uncomfortably while trying to think of something to say or express out loud. It seemed that all those months in Hueco Mundo had rushed into him, making him become so senseless about many things, but he was quiet keen on knowing that he was hurting a lot people--importantly Karin. He inhaled, his words forming coherent sentences on his head.

"I don't know what to do anymore Ukitake-taichou, I am--at a loss here." The ocean green eyed shinigami looked at the other shinigami, a pleading and hopeless expression was so present that anyone who would looked at him would feel the pain.

"I'm sorry to hear that Toshiro-kun." The white haired shinigami tried to be reasonable due to prior situation, but it was hard to not get involved on something that seem to affect a lot of other people. He sighed, thinking of something to comfort him or ease the worry in his young mind. "Everyone goes through their emotions differently, I assure you that everyone would understand--but after all these time. I believe that now everyone is finding it hard to talk to you, even myself. What would I tell you? What words would be comforting for you? There's so much one could say, but none of it would be enough to ease your pain and fears."

Those wise words, Hitsugaya had been in need of hearing that. No one seemed to understand, no one bothered to ask because they were far too caring--now he was confused as to think about it though. That fear, that fear alone was a damning thing in a life making everyone worry so much and everything.

"I know, but somehow my mind can't fully comprehend that at all." The young shinigami expressed lightly, silently thanking his superior. "My own fear and pain is hurting the person I care about the most, yet, she seems to share the same worries as me as well. Karin understands what is like to lose a lot of things, and I don't even give her credit for being strong." He laughed darkly at himself for his own lack of understanding his wife to be. "She makes my world spin into an axis I can't control at all, she drives me crazy--and I am making her worry over me. My selfish ways of life have caught up to me, and I don't get it at all. And, maybe she doesn't deserve me."

"What the fuck!" Ichigo rushed inside the room, punching Toshiro in the face. "Pardon my intrusion Ukitake-taichou, but I need to knock some sense into this stupid man who is hurting my sister."

The captain said nothing, merely nodding silently and getting up. "I'll leave the two alone, please don't break anything. I would prefer for this to be done somewhere else, but it can't be helped." He dropped his head a little and walked out of the room.

Dark amber eyes stared into shocked bright green eyes, the anger flowing inside of the orange haired male's blood was too much--his heart was beating erratically as he wanted to beat him so badly.

"Damn it Toshiro, do you know what the hell you are doing?" Ichigo's voice held a cold tone to it, hard and strong. "I told you that you were not allowed to hurt my sister in any way, yet it seems that your stupid brain can't fucking comprehend that. This is no longer about me, but you knew that fucking moron. Tell me, wasn't it true you swore to never hurt her?"

He looked away, thinking and trying to recall that moment in which he knew that he had. It was bothersome to look back, to remember the past because the present was supposed to be much better.

"I did, but promises aren't always kept. You know that Kurosaki." Toshiro's voice was hard too, not of anger towards his brother-in-law to be, but to himself. "How do you deal with it?" He turned to look at him on that, carefully examining his face for an answer--though that deepening scowl revealed nothing.

"You don't, that's the secret. You aren't allowed to deal with the pain sometimes, the only way is to move on and never look back on it." Ichigo's eyes softened a bit, but only a bit. "I don't look back because it would only hurt Rukia, and I am not going to risk breaking her heart and hurt my children as well. You must grow stronger, someone once told me that." He let go, and started pacing.

A sorrow that had grown black for many years, until his world changed when he met a certain shinigami. Ichigo never wished for anyone to feel the same, blaming one's self for another loss and for being weak--that memory standing still wasn't worth thinking about anymore after so long now.

"You're a fucking idiot for thinking back on that stupid shit back in Hueco Mundo." The orange haired male couldn't think of anything else to say to the white haired shinigami anymore. "I've been there, done that and all of that consequential shit alright. Toshiro, get over yourself and move on because if you continue like that--not only will you lose a lot of your friends and fellow comrades, but you will lose my sister. Think thoroughly about that." With that, the 9th squad captain left.

Hitsugaya Toshiro slammed his fists on the small table, making the cups that were still filled with tea fall on the floor. Being weak was driving him so far as to not even having the guts to stand up against that man, it was maddening and completely repulsive--Toshiro needed to get over himself and that sulking attitude before losing everything that was holding his world together.

'About time, I was getting worried that little Shiro-kun wouldn't be able to resolve this.' Hyorinmaru spoke, a rather laughable tone laced around his words.

'Shut up!' The white haired shinigami groaned as he shunpoed away from the 13th squad, and tried to make peace with whatever was going to be pointed back into the past, to be forgotten.

+---+

The feel of the refreshing warm water felt good, as Karin laid in the bathtub washing her body with the soap--carefully trying to avoid any type of pain to disturb her thoughts. For now, she smiled contently to herself after talking with her sister--whom seem to always find a way to comfort her even though things weren't always going to be alright. Except for now, the dark haired shinigami wanted to hold onto that hope and softly praying that he would be fine.

Perhaps it was impossible to deal with that kind of void completely, she had dealt with it while Toshiro had gone missing and was ready to move on after so long, yet it seemed as though something was holding her back. He wouldn't want her to worry over him, frankly, sometimes she wondered if he actually was trying to get someone to worry about him. She sighed in defeat, it was impossible not to think about not worrying about him--that was just impossible.

"Karin?" She jerked her head to the knock.

"In here." Her voice remained calm, even though she felt like everything would crumble sooner then expected.

The doors to the large bathroom opened, though she didn't need to turn, Karin knew who it was that had invaded her solace silence for the moment.

"Karin, we need to talk." Toshiro stated, removing his haori and removing his robes as well.

"About what?" Karin answered indifferently, moving to the other edge of the large tub to give him room to get in. A small splash noise filled the gapping silence, she felt his body heat near her, but that did not motive her to do anything about it.

"Karin." Toshiro began, staring at her back and her long black hair plastered against her creamed skin. Why was it so hard to say what he wanted, even though its purpose was to simply make it better in order to stop her worrying over him.

Somehow despite the closeness, the strong bond that they held for each other it seemed to only pull them farther away from them. That fear of losing her, losing the only happiness that which he had known was fierce and extremely awry to even bother to put much thought into it.

"I'm sorry Karin." His voice was soft, so unlike him and it really hurt Karin to hear that.

She turned, without even noticing that there were tears rolling down her cheeks and she smiled at him. For so long now, it seemed that things would only remained with sorrow and confusion that it felt extremely odd to have him apologize suddenly like that. Truthfully, there was nothing to be expected from such tremendous change in his behaviour, but nevertheless it was appreciated.

"Oh, Toshiro." She threw her arms against him and hugged him. Kissing his cheek on the process and smiling, wiping away her tears. "Sorry, I shouldn't cry like a baby. You shouldn't apologize at all, even though I really wanted to punch you in your face for being a stupid wimpy captain."

A smirk spread around his face, despite the fact that the new change would actually take a while, except that she was the first to know about it.

"I know, but that's why you like me that way." He smirked again, and earned a glare from his fiancée.

"Really now? I find you to be a rather pompous, icy, stupid, and egoist captain." Karin smiled, and snaked her arms around his neck and stared into his bright eyes. "Except, somehow I really think that its appealing for you, even though I honestly want to punch that smirk away from your face. Now, are we going to do rock-paper-scissors as to who will be the first to get their backs washed." Karin ran her finger seductively on his chest.

Hitsugaya groaned, not only because he disliked doing contests with her, but then again perhaps there might be something out of doing that.

"I don't think so. A captain never resorts to lowly tricks like that, so I refuse to follow it." He reached forward to grab the soap bar and began to rub her back with it. "We have to do this bath quick, its my turn today to put Tatsuya to bed."

"Oh, so caring." The dark haired shinigami smiled, and continued to run her hand on his chest. "And, change his diaper as well." At that, she broke into a loud laughter and sank under the water of the large tub to rise off the soap--even though she really didn't enjoy it so well.

Hitsugaya's eyebrow twitched as he watched her form disappear out of the doors, and with her loud laughter filling the house. Sometimes he never really got why he was so fixated in that girl, the one that had once been a human and then became a strong shinigami. Except, that he loved her dearly.

+---+

A warm wetness made Renji snap his eyes open, slowly the realization came to him as he jumped from his bed when he looked at his wife staring at him wide eyed. Incoherently, it seemed that she might have 'accidentally' wet the bed for not going to the bathroom, but suddenly he felt a sandal hit him square on the face.

"Don't fucking stand there idiot, this baby is about to come out!" Tatsuki shouted at him, getting up slowly and looking for her shinigami robes.

"Here, dress quickly." The red headed male threw her robes, and he got himself into a fresh clean ones before rushing around the room and trying to gather the necessities--even though 4th division would be able to pretty much provide everything for them.

"Oh, you give me the old ones while you get clean ones?" Tatsuki voice held an extreme rising anger to it, but that was possibly due to the pain, but he was unsure.

"There's not time to argue about this--" He hissed in the darkness, trying his best not to suddenly trip at all since there was nothing he could do at the moment.

Tatsuki on the other hand was rushing around, without even thinking much about the pain because she wasn't sure that there was a way to handle it at once--so she didn't think about it. As she looked in the darkness, her hand reached for the opening of the door, except that a pair of hands stopped her own.

"What the hell Renji? We have to get going." She argued, even though her brain couldn't truly think properly at the same time as she thought about the pain.

"Are you seriously going to walk all the way to 4th division?" Renji chuckled a bit and picked her up, bridal style.

"Put me down!" Tatsuki protested, even though she knew it was true for the most part.

"No way in hell, come on I am going to shunpou you there. So, quit squirming or I'll fucking drop you." At that, she said nothing more as she clung onto him and buried her face in his chest.

Somehow, this felt extremely awkward because the baby wasn't due until next month--but she had forgotten that babies didn't care at all. Sighing, she gave up on thinking about it thoroughly.

"Abarai-fukutaichou, what brings you here?" Unohana-taichou smiled, and then saw his wife in his arms. "Oh, Isane will you please get a room available as soon as you can?"

"Hai!" The 4th squad shinigami ran off to the opposite direction to find a room.

Renji was trying his best to hide behind a mask, the one where he wouldn't panic and start thinking that there was something wrong with his child--which he couldn't afford to think about. The baby, his son had to be alright after he had waited so long despite the many hardships of recent weeks now. All there was on this one moment was happiness, a new start, and the mark of the beginning of a new soul in Soul Society.

Lately though, the birth of a child in Soul Society was still considered strange and extremely rare, but no one bother to do anything about it since neither Renji, Ichigo, and Hitsugaya would allow their children to be tested by the ever-so creepy 12th squad captain.

"Renji--you son of a bitch!--How dare you!--" Tatsuki was yelling at him, as the birth of their child was taking place. "You idiot, how could you make me go through all of these?"

"Tatsuki, the yelling isn't going to fucking help at the moment!" Renji clenched his teeth tightly, trying hard to avoid the extreme pain that was shooting in his hand as she squeezed it tightly. He looked down at the motherly shinigami, as she smiled at him with that always soothing calm face.

"It always happens Abarai-kun, so there's no need to worry." Unohana expressed sweetly. "I need you to push again Arisawa-san, can you do that?"

"What the hell? Of course I can!" The mother to be yelled again, pushing hard as she continued to squeeze tightly onto her husband's hand, slowly it seemed that the hand would be crushed during the night. "Fucking hell!!"

The 4th squad captain saw the baby's head, sweat was forming on her brow at the stuffiness in the room seemed extremely uncomfortable for some odd reason--but that wasn't the important thought at the time. She focused as she continued to instruct the female shinigami, this baby was going to be born and adding more to the new souls in Soul Society.

"Damn you Abarai Renji for getting me pregnant!" Tatsuki continued to shout at him, gripping his shinigami robes on the process.

"I know, I know." The red headed shinigami could not think of anything else to say to her, he was far too ecstatic about the fact that he would be a father soon, so he could not say or think for that matter. "I love you Renji!" She suddenly said, looking at him with the most loving expression ever.

Kotetsu Isane shook her head incredulously at the couple--somehow they always managed to be extremely comical in a way in spite of whatever the situation was present in front of them. They belonged together oddly enough, but it seemed to make Renji happy after she had seen him depressed for so many years.

"Congratulations, you have a baby boy Abarai-fukutaichou and Arisawa-san." Unohana held the baby and then handed him to Isane for her to clean up. "He's healthy, so you don't need to worry about that. I'll the two be, good job Arisawa-san."

"It's a boy, Renji." Tatsuki broke down and started to sob.

Renji stared at the baby that Isane was holding in her arms to give to him, his maroon liked coloured hair seemed soft and thin--it had been a while since he had seen a new born. A huge smile spread around his face as she handed his child to him to see, the little dimples that appeared on his slight chubby face as the child smiled.

"He's so beautiful, Renji." The dark haired coloured shinigami smiled as she held her child in her arms, gently rocking him. "Now, I know how it feels to be a mother. I've never imagined myself having a child on my own."

"It's damn incredible I must admit." The 6th squad vice-captain smiled and kissed her in her temple. "What will we name him?"

Tatsuki smiled again, caressing her baby's cheek and running her finger delicately on his maroon locks. His eyes were a soft shade of grey mixed with blue, they sparkled and she loved his dimples. Somehow though, this child managed to look like both of his parents--which Tatsuki could not complain at all.

"Takehiko." She smiled, looking into her husband's loving eyes and continuing to rock the child.

"Soldier prince?" He looked at her, arching his brown on the process.

"He kicked a lot on my stomach, so I think he'll be a fighter like you and I." She explained, as a different 4th squad came inside to take the child. "And, I feel that he'll be like you."

Renji chuckled and kissed her fully in the lips, wanting and hoping for everything to go better because he needed to lead this life. It was happiness, knowing that he had a family who he had to protect made Renji feel better about everything. Suffering for so long wasn't suited at all, all the bad memories and moments of the past washed away, the waters were settling and calm--it felt like a new life was been given to him.

"I love you too Tatsuki." He smiled and hugged her.

'_When love is deep, much can be accomplished.'_

* * *

_Capitulo 8, everyone! Wow, its going great I think so far. Thanks to **happygirl24**, **rose-of-alabaster**, **Tsukihime nee**, **realityfling18** for their reviews, those who alerted, favoured--all of that stuff. You know who you are XD!! I know that Kurosaki manor sounds completely stupid, but I'll have to bloody explain that 'cos I haven't gotten around as to how in the bloody hell I am going to actually explain--man did I just completely confused myself. Anyways_, _but I am still going with my idea of them being nobles. Sighs, I had a special hard time with this chapter because of happiness/sadness/confusion/void/anger and all of those emotions being combined in one time. It wasn't easy, but hopefully I did alright--so I'll just give myself a yogurt cup for it or whatever. This is one of my longest chapters, so please don't mind it--I will try to make less longer ones 'cos they are hard to type. I will start answering your comments, though I don't promise to always do it. [Forgot, the quote at the end is by Suzuki Shinichi-san, he's a violist and a teacher]  
_

_+happygirl24-'I really didn't know that was actually Byakuya's song! Well, I'll have to think of another name now or something. Geez! And, really? I thought that a lot of people would be complaining about what I am doing to Orihime. And, thanks for supporting my ideas. _

_+rose-of-alabaster- 'Aw, I know you don't like the name of Kurosaki manor. I, myself don't like it either, but I kind of ran out of original ideas. Silly me, and I'll have to explain further how their home is actually set up just so I don't confuse you.'_

_+Tsukihime nee- 'Sad endings--I find them to be anti-climactic and not to my taste, though sometimes I can handle them. And, well we'll see how this story ends because I am not near finishing this story, so stay tuned to read more.'_

_+realityfling18- 'Thanks for finding my story, makes me happy that you like it a lot. And, well I had a hard time writing this and still am seeing that I haven't worked with so much void and sorrow, so its new for me. And, hope that you stick around to find out more.'_

_There it goes everyone, hope that I haven't disappointed you so far on this chapter. Toshiro was extremely OOC, but what the hell--I don't get to see his vulnerable side very often so I want to really explore that and at the same time trying not to go off his character. And, yes he's very angry still at Hinamori, but maybe in the next chapter I'll explain why he actually doesn't like her anymore and the reason why he can't be friends with her. Too much angst, sorrow and pain--not my liking but I am trying hard to move away from that by adding the part in which Renji and Tatsuki welcome their son Takehiko, and well I already said the meaning and that is according to a website so don't blame me for bad meanings and whatnot. Perhaps that scene could had been better, but I really needed to finish this chapter 'cos I was having early stages of writer's block! I almost panicked. So, next chapter will have to be the wedding I think. Thanks, until next chapter. Like it? Review it. Hate it? That's alright.  
_


	9. Dancing Shinny Petals

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach in any way, shape, or form. (Insert some witty comment for today).

**Summary:** Refer to previous chapters for it.

* * *

**The Bridge Of Silence**

+---+

+Dancing Shinny Petals+

_The silence was heavy on Toushiro as he looked at his former friend, the one who wanted to protect the traitor Aizen. He clenched his jaw tightly, his teeth grinding against each other tightly--he was beyond anger and fury. If there was actually a level that existed pretty high above those words, perhaps he could loath her. The white haired captain didn't understand, didn't even want to at all because it only made him want to stab that bastard over and over again. _

"_I hate you!" She spat angrily, despite her injuries. "You broke your promises!" The venom to her words didn't made him react. _

"_I told you Hinamori that there was nothing that I could do." Hitsugaya sneered, it took a lot for anyone to make him truly angry--not the kind of anger he showed towards Matsumoto for being lazy. _

"_You betrayed my trust, how could you? And, after that you dare to see that stupid Kurosaki girl." A hysterical laughter escaped her lips, but anger obviously showing in her eyes. "Go back to her. You shouldn't be here feeling sorry for me or apologizing for this accident at all. Go screw her, kiss her or whatever the hell it is that you do with her. I don't want for you to worry over me, its not your place." _

_Words were never allowed to be taken back, Toushiro knew that and had learned to take it without getting hurt. He turned, his back against her as he slid the door open to the room. There was nothing else to say to her, even if anyone wanted too--there was no way to change her mind. He was tired of thinking about the past and everything that involved it, therefore, burying deep was the best for him. _

"_I won't worry over you, and I want for you to remember that we are no longer friends." He said bitterly, unhurt and uncaring. "You're position as a fukutaichou has been terminated starting from tomorrow. Kurosaki Isshin-taichou will return all of your private possessions." He didn't look at her. "Yamamoto-soutaichou wants this to go as smoothly as it can get. Good bye, Hinamori-san." _

+---+

The summer night air was crisp, filled with a honey scent coming from the night blooming flowers on the small garden. Karin's eyes shifted as the small breeze swept by, the night was peaceful despite the long day back in the human world. The time seemed to only go by like a sprinter, without stopping or rewinding at all--that was good though. August was going to roll around just next week, the ending to summer would come soon, and everything would continue moving.

The eerie night did not depict the quietness at all, it seemed to be only increasing the suspense to something greater, something bigger. The chills suddenly crept into her, slowly tantalizing her skin as if eyes watched her carefully, but why was that fear appearing like that?

"Karin!" She jumped as Toushiro stepped out of the room and taking a seat besides her. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Shit, you fucking scared me." She hissed under her breath, clutching to her chest to try to stop her heart from actually popping out of her chest.

The white haired captain said nothing, merely looking at whatever it was that his future wife was staring at in the distance of their house. His emerald green eyes glowed in the night, the moonlight radiating from his skin making it glow softly, while his hair was shinning silver. Karin looked at him, carefully wanting to make the strange feeling from going away.

"What were you thinking so deeply about?" He turned, his gaze was intense as she fought the urge to not be succumbed to that stare.

"It was nothing." She muttered, tearing her eyes from his and looking down at her hands. "I--I felt like thinking."

"There's something bothering you, so out with it." Toushiro grumbled, grasping her hand and making her look at him again. "Please." She sighed, being weak against him was like a sin.

"I have a bad feeling about when we go up to the real world for our wedding." The dark haired shinigami revealed, lacing her fingers against his. "I don't know what it is, but I just feel it. Something that makes me feel cold despite the fact that it is warm at the moment, but I can't put my finger into that feeling at the moment. You shouldn't worry though, it is simply a feeling."

He nodded and continued to stare at whatever it was, not feeling completely sure about her words at all. The feeling was mutual though, it had been for a while since their last captain's meeting. The white haired captain sighed, relentlessly fighting the urge to actually say something out loud and expressing his own worry about whatever it was that would happen next.

"We should go back to sleep, we have work tomorrow." Hitsugaya stood up and dusted his sleeping robes. He stretched out his hand for Karin to take, willingly she did and he pulled her up.

"Yeah, I have a day off though." She informed him as the two re-entered their room. "Ichi-nii is taking Kazuki and Amaya up to visit oyaji, even though I see no point to it since he's due to return this week."

"There are a lot of things that have no point." He expressed as he stumbled into his side of the bed, and laid back down hoping to fall asleep fast.

Karin laid down and scooted closer to him, putting her head on his chest and feeling content about the moment at hand. Hitsugaya wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him and feeling her warmth next to her as he liked it to be. They laid there in silence for what seemed hours, neither of them actually falling asleep or even feeling slightly tired at all.

Slowly, the dark haired shinigami snuggled against the white haired shinigami and closed her eyes to sleep. His heart beating made it sound like a lullaby, succumbing to that sound was the last thing she could remember of the night as she wanted to forget that frightening feeling at the back of her head.

On the other hand, the 10th squad captain could not fall asleep at all. The suspicions were growing at a rapid rate unlike no other, even his future wife was aware that something was going to happen soon just as the reports from the 12th squad research apartment were predicting. A power ten times greater then the Hougyoku, enough for it to--he couldn't bare to think of that sole thing alone at the moment. He leaned his head against the pillow, and closed his eyes and slowly fell into a deep sleep.

+---+

Ichigo stared out the window of his office, carefully noting the fact that his squad was improving for the past few years since when he first had taken over after Tousen had betrayed them. He found it interesting how all of them were able to trust him, someone who became a shinigami willingly, and then was made into a noble. He found it hard to understand that logic whatsoever, but then again, nothing in Soul Society failed to amaze him at all.

They were stronger and extremely adaptive to their surroundings, their progress was amazing and well noted by the other squads. The orange haired captain was also content with his fukutaichou, who was soon to be brother-in-law as well. Hisagi Shuuhei was a dependable man, strong willed, and a believer in justice as well. His fairness was great for the job, understanding and comprehending of others was also a good point about him--all in all--Ichigo was content with the 9th squad.

"Kurosaki-taichou." Hisagi entered the room, carrying papers on his hands.

"Ah, those papers from the 5th squad?" He turned around and walked over towards the other desk of his vice-captain.

"Yes, sir. Kurosaki-fukutaichou made sure all of them were organized, ready for you to sign." He inquired, handing the thick folder to the orange haired shinigami.

"Thanks, Hisagi." Ichigo gave him a nod, and then returned to his own desk to start signing the paperwork. Hopefully soon his idiotic father would show up at once, and regain back his duties because he was getting sick of doing all the paperwork and having to deal with the lot of them.

The dark haired vice-captain sat there, staring at his scowling captain while he muttered to himself softly and signing papers. He wondered sometimes how someone so young like him was able to handle someone else's squad, and his own. Hisagi was amazed at first when the former shinigami representative was made into a captain, the way the haori with the nine number on his back reflected and the strength that the young shinigami carried with him.

At the beginning, the vice-captain felt rather unconnected with his new captain with the obvious that he still felt angry at the fact that the former 9th squad captain had betrayed everyone. Hisagi found it hard to fully trust Kurosaki at first, but at a demonstration of the new captain's bankai--that managed to change his view on him. Now, after all those years now, the 9th squad fukutaichou seemed content with the taichou.

"Hisagi, you should take a break and go have lunch." Ichigo spoke, breaking the long silence and standing up while putting away the brush on his hands. "When you finish, make sure that you make your daily evaluation of the squad, sign it and leave it on my desk. I'll finish my own work, and review your evaluation and sign it myself to turn in."

"Hai, Kurosaki-taichou." The vice-captain stood up and followed him behind.

"Good afternoon, Kurosaki-taichou and Hisagi-fukutaichou." A few members of their squad greeted them on the way out of the 9th squad barracks and off to the 4th squad to have lunch.

Ichigo broke off and headed to the line, carefully being granted access by the lower seats because everyone feared being reported to their own captains and being punished. Technically, Ichigo couldn't careless about other shinigamis and their thoughts about him, and his still infamous orange hair. Public opinions didn't bother him in either life nor death, so he wasn't about to actually go around and care for the opinions of others.

"Ichigo!" Rukia yelled from an empty table in the far back of the large room.

"Oi, Rukia." He smiled as he grabbed his food and headed off to that table. "You're fairly early? Playing hooky again?" His wife frowned slightly at the comment, stuffing her mouth with a bean bun and chewed.

"I wouldn't do something like that, besides there is absolutely anything to do." The petite shinigami complained, wiping the corners of her mouth. "Your father is not around at all, without him there is nothing else to do but complete the stupid paperwork and all of that."

"Then again, its better then to have his loud mouth around." The orange haired captain frowned, thinking of that crazy oyaji of his was a horrid thought. "Soul Society is much more quieter without his stupidity around, then again Kazuki and Amaya want to see my old man."

Rukia smiled as she drank some water from her cup, and continued eating her noodles that were extra delicious today for some reason. Being with Ichigo changed her world, bringing emotions and memories that which could never be replaced by someone else at all. Marrying him was a dream, being with him was beyond her wildest imagination because Rukia had never actually thought that she had fallen for a guy like him at all.

He was driven, smart, caring, understanding--too many other things that she actually had never expected coming from her husband at all. Kurosaki Ichigo had given up a lot of things in order to be with her, which she still felt guilty about and still did, but he often reminded her that there was no way in hell that he actually regretted anything at all.

"Ichigo, what do you think of what was said on the captain's meeting?" Her voice was in a low whisper, but loud enough for Ichigo to hear it only.

"I don't." The orange haired shinigami replied, looking down at his wife and eyeing her closely. "I don't let it bother me at the moment, even though I do question how someone is actually wanting to make something more powerful then its original."

Rukia nodded absentmindedly as she tried to absorb all of that information at once, it was a little bit too much and unexpected to say the least. She wanted not to believe in the truth, only wanting to go back to the time in which everyone got along fine--but that seemed hard now since Inoue Orihime had betrayed them all and decided to save the 4th Espada from being killed.

In the beginning, only a few days after the war, the petite shinigami wanted to believe that their former friend would actually return and say that it was all a mistake. Those long days and nights turned to months, years--and successively up until now. She had known for a while now that her husband felt slightly angry at that, wasting all his energies and will in order to save someone who didn't want to be saved.

Rukia understood a little bit, believing on him was enough to obscure her own worries about anything at all, and she trusted the fact that he too couldn't count on getting her back at all.

"I am worried that we'll met her soon, Ichigo." She didn't want to think of that scenario, but there was no helping it at all. "What will happen? No one knows the reasons why she save that Espada, why she disappeared with him."

Ichigo stopped eating and set his chopsticks down on the table. "Inoue was my friend, someone who I put my outmost trust during the time she spent with us. After everything that happen between us, to me she's nothing but part of the enemies that we have to go against with." He looked at her watching her expression, but it seemed as though she felt the same way. "I wouldn't want to meet her in this type of situation, but there's no way in hell that we can change the situation at all."

The black haired shinigami nodded and returned back to her eating, mind slowly becoming busily with thoughts of meeting her once acclaimed friend. Knowing that she had to confront the woman that held feelings towards her husband would be difficult, but not as much since she was a traitor and enemy. She chewed on her food, but a sour taste coming inside of her.

+---+

The 6th squad was busily today, everyone coming in and out of the barracks as their captain Kuchiki Byakuya was extremely in a horrid mood due to--unspoken reasons. Abarai Renji was the only one who had to feel the wrath of the stoic captain, the cold glares and monotone words coming from the noble captain were hard to fully comprehend at once.

"Abarai." The monotone voice of the captain came, his gaze never leaving the paper in front of him.

"Yes, Kuchiki-taichou?" The red headed shinigami replied, swallowing hard as he held his son close to him and taking the brush away from his tiny hands.

"Get out of the office, and take that child as far away as you can." The captain stated icily, still keeping his gaze away and swiftly removing the ink from his cheek. "It is not play time Abarai."

Renji swallowed hard again and stood up, not really wanting to actually deal with another wrath from the 6th squad captain at all. He bowed stupidly as he shut the door, carefully glancing the other subordinates that walked by snickering at him.

"Tachoo!" Takehiko smiled at his father and stretched out his tiny hand to brush it against his father.

"Come on, we have to find your mommy." He grinned sheepishly at his son, and walked off before regretting on standing on the spot.

All of the 6th squad actually had seen how much their captain was building a hate for the small baby, even though others believed that he actually liked having children around him--neither of the theories were actually accurate at all. The fukutaichou knew well that his taichou only liked his nephews, Amaya and Kazuki because they were his adoptive sister's children--though sometimes he disliked the two because they were so much like their father.

The red headed didn't get it much, nor did he question at all because it wasn't worth asking much about it. Leaving it a mystery was better in order to not have thoughts in his head, for now he only wanted to see his wife and hand the child to her.

He walked towards the dojo area where he knew that his wife was going to be at, probably torturing other members of their squad by using brute antics against them. Spartan could be a possible descriptive word for her training sessions, but that was going a little bit overboard with the whole 'strong' stuff.

"Renji, what brings you here?" Tatsuki asked as she landed a hit to another lower seat member. "Everyone, lets take a break."

The rest of those that were there shuffled around the floor and hung up their swords, and leaving quietly because they feared how she oftentimes yelled at them for being so loud.

Tatsuki dried of her sweat with the towel, and smiled at the sight of her son as he smiled brightly at her and opened his arms for her to take him in her arms.

"Come here, Takehiko." She took him in her arms, and began to rock him back and forth. "So, what trouble did you two gentlemen get in--again?" This time, the dark haired shinigami looked up at the red headed shinigami, whom looked utterly outraged at the fact that he was reminded often about the trouble.

"I behaved, only the little one." Renji fought so hard on trying not to argue with her. So, he smiled at her and his son. "So, dinner at Ichigo's or we go out?"

Tatsuki smiled at him, and then kissed Takehiko's cheek softly. "Ichigo's, I feel like this little guy isn't done with Kuchiki-taichou just yet."

Renji nearly chocked on that one because his wife would be so evil, but never get into trouble at all so he envied her on that part.

"Come on, lets just go before he comes around here and hears you say that." He grumbled, snaking his arm around her waist and pulling his family to him as the three left the dojo. "Heh, Ichigo's going to be surprised."

"Eh, that strawberry never gets surprised now days. I actually find that to be odd from him, but he's a captain after all." She mused and grinned. "Besides, there's nothing to be surprised about pineapple so just drop it."

The two argued all their way to the large house that was out close to where their friend and former noble, Shiba Kukkaku lived. The pineapple nickname being drop at each step they took, but Renji nor Tatsuki ever actually argued a useless matter such a silly nickname at all.

+---+

"Karin-chan, quit squirming or I'll prick you with the needle." The golden haired woman said, while pinning the dress to fit more properly around the body of Karin.

"I can't stand still Yuzu, its annoying." Karin grumbled, while staring at herself in the length mirror.

The wedding gown was fitting on her top part and her waist rather tightly, but it didn't feel like it which made her head spin a little on that part that involved being a bride or some fashion lover. She groaned loudly as she stepped off the pedestal and sat down on a chair groaning again.

"What's wrong?" Yuzu asked, noticing the frustration that was coming from her twin sister. For a while now she had noticed that Karin had been under a lot of stress, the unknown stress was perhaps becoming a little too heavy for her.

Karin was tired a lot, tired of trying to find a way to fit in more among the whole nobility pricks that ran around looking as though they still didn't accept her. Well, then again they hadn't because she was an unwed mother, living under the same roof with her lover--that made it sound a though she was some whore. The dark haired shinigami groaned again, vehemently trying not to go off suddenly and curse their asses to the doors of Hell.

"Its just this Yuzu, nothing more." Karin smiled, trying so hard not to become so angry with herself at all. "All I want is for this wedding in the real world to be over, and I am nervous as hell."

"Sorry Karin-chan, but it would be over in only 24 hours." Her sister smiled, and stood up again while dusting her dress from invisible dust. "You must admit though, this dress is so pretty in your body. I remember that Rukia-nee had trouble fitting in her dress perfectly due to her--well you know. Except, you seem to fit well in this dress."

Now, Karin stared at herself in the mirror and looked at the dress carefully. There was a black sash tied around her waist, the rest of the dress was long and was made out of soft ruffles--it literally cascaded down her body and it looked amazing.

Slowly though, she was accepting the fact that she was going to be married soon to a wonderful man who loved her dearly. Even if they fought about rather senseless stuff, Karin couldn't be happier to spend her entire life with Hitsugaya Toshiro and their son. Though, she really hoped that she could have another child in order to have a complete family.

"I--I am actually going get marry." Karin turned to look at Yuzu, and smiled widely whilst grabbing her hands. "I'm going to get married Yuzu to the best man I have ever met in my life--and--and I--am so happy."

Both sisters began to jump up and down, as their father stood behind the closed door with a huge happy grin on his face. Surely, having three wonderful children was a gift that he hadn't expected to have in his life at all, but was grateful to have nevertheless.

"Masaki, you would be so proud of our children." Isshin expressed, as he continued off to his room and shut the door behind him quietly.

The wedding was set for tomorrow in the afternoon, during the twilight and nearly under the stars in Urahara's store. All the guests had been given proper gigais and accommodates for them, but there weren't going to be so many guests due to the fact that neither bride or groom wanted so many people there.

+---+

* * *

_Chapter 9 everyone, thanks for sticking around still. I'll like to thank **happygirl24**, **rose-of-alabaster**, **realityfling18**, and **Kida Ookami** (also for favouring) for their reviews, **ChidoriSakura112** for favouring my story. You guys are awesome and amazing for reviewing and all of that good stuff. I can't believe that I am up to nine chapters already--bloody hell! Honestly I couldn't be happier, so enough of that for now. Not much happens on this chapter seeing that its sort of like a filler in a way, not so much because there's some important stuff here that needed to be put on this chapter. So, I did say that I was going to put a bloody wedding, but damn it I couldn't do it at all even though I have to. I'm terrible at the wedding rubbish, mainly because its hard to actually put it in words. Maybe I should get married--nah. Woah, off the bloody subject here. _

_+happygirl24- 'I haven't found the song yet, but I am still looking. Sighs, okay how do you like Yozora no kiri (it means mist of the night sky), or Yoru no Hana (bloom of the night). Those are for Karin, for Yuzu I have yet to find something fitting. Let me know what you think of either names. And, thanks for your review!'_

_+rose-of-alabaster- 'I liked the Renji/Tatsuki pair--had for a while now and I thought I'd put them here. Somehow I can see them together, even if it may never happen but that's why we create fanfics for it XD. And, I know it was so OOC, but it couldn't be helped since he was a bit angst because of the situation. So, thanks for the review.'_

_+realityfling18- 'Aw, I'm sorry you had a bad day. Hopefully it was fixed though, I tend to have them a lot and I hate them because then I get extremely irritated and it turns into a big mess. Anyhow--but I am happy to hear my story made you feel better. Oh, that's true because its a very traumatizing thing and its not so easily dealt with so easily. Hope you liked this chapter.'_

_+Kida Ookami- 'Ah, thank you very much for the kind words. I thought I was doing too much of a depressing thing with all of those emotions, but I guess they turned out well then I expected. Emotional is totally the proper term for those chapters--I made a few people cry I believe because of that. Hollow pain like that is so hard to write, so it was difficult not to sit in front of my computer and write since most of it only comes from my brain without having it planned out. Sighs, but I do hope that you enjoy this chapter! Thanks again!'_

_Alright, well a few important facts I think. So, before anyone starts to question--yes time is moving rather fast but I seriously needed to get off the summer season since Toushiro would very much appreciate that. Another one, so Tatsuya was born in March 13 and Takehiko was born on April 19th. The wedding is going to take place on the next chapter, I hope (crosses fingers). We'll see what forms in my brain for the next few days before I post the new chapter. Like it? Review it. Hate it? That's alright.  
_


	10. Surprising Declarations

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. My mind may play tricks on me, but IT shall never make me believe I would own it.

**Summary:** Refer back to previous chapters for the full summary.

* * *

**The Bridge Of Silence**

+---+

+Surprising Declarations+

_The nervousness spread around Kurosaki Ichigo like the rapid waters of a stream, rushing and pushing strongly to the point of drowning a body inside of its waters. He stood there in his room, quietly going over the plan of telling Kuchiki Byakuya about his adoptive sister being pregnant with his child. It was a murderous attempt, perhaps a death note to his already short life in the human world--knowing that the ruthless stoic captain would come and bankai his ass to death. _

_Ichigo shook violently on that thought, the shock of knowing that he had defeated him once seemed still hard to believe, but knowing that he had more of a reason to kill the orange head seemed like one of those scary movies. Rukia laid asleep in his bed, her hair sprawled around her and looking peaceful. He had never thought that he would be a father at the age of 17, far too young for him--somehow though the orange head didn't mind that at all. _

"_What am I going to do?" He said aloud, running a hand thru his spiky orange locks. His amber eyes holding fear and determination, everything coming at once didn't feel that great at all. "I'm going to have to get this over with--before I chicken out and look like a complete ass." He pressed the badge on his chest, allowing his body to drop lifelessly on the bed next to Rukia. _

_The breeze of the chilly February day burned against his warm skin as he jumped out of his window, landing instantly on the black top of the street, and he ran off to Urahara's to get the gate to Soul Society and tell the Kuchiki Byakuya that he was going to be an uncle somewhere around November. _

+---+

The large training room underneath Urahara's shop had turned into a nice wedding place, the once rocky theme like room was transformed into a greenery picturesque painting with all the flowers as decorations. Hitsugaya gazed at it for a little while longer, until someone called over to him announcing that he had to get dressed as the guests were due to arrive in less then forty minutes.

He nodded in acknowledgement, while thinking that the wedding was actually going to take place in only an hour and a half. The thought of marriage was awry since the beginning, knowing that one had to promise to love someone for the rest of their lives until death would thou them apart--but would that actually apply to them since they were already dead?

He somewhat criticize his attempt at the irony comment, but pushed it aside quickly as he walked inside one of the rooms available in the store for him to change. The room was empty for the most part, only his black tux hung on a little hinge in the middle of the room, while his dress shoes were sat on the floor on the corner of the room. The large mirror in the middle of the room reflected him back, the usual annoyed knitted frown was not in place--only a blank expression seemed to be painted as his towering figure only seemed to standstill.

"Hitsugaya-kun." The voice came from behind the screen door, it seemed that it was time for that father-to-groom talk. The white haired captain grimaced a little as he opened the door for Kurosaki Isshin.

"What is it?" He asked bluntly, feeling like formalities with the 5th squad captain were unnecessary.

"Ah, my future son! It is good to know that you have not run away." The eccentric shinigami wrapped his arm on Toushiro's shoulder, pulling him in a tight hug with a smile on his face. "My lovely daughter will be happy, I know it. A beautiful son and a strong man as her husband, a father could never ask for more."

The white haired shinigami groaned inwardly, this conversation was expected to say the least, but it was way too awkward.

"I know Kurosaki Isshin-taichou, Karin is a very wonderful woman and person. And, I also know that I am lucky to be marrying her." He said, as much as a softy he was sounding right now it seemed proper to say at the moment. "I will protect her with my life no matter what, and I will make her happy with all of my might along with Tatsuya."

"Good son, good! I am glad we had this clear." Isshin smiled and patted Toushiro in the back. "Now, off for you to get ready. Wouldn't want to make my daughter wait for you because of me." He smiled and walked out of the room.

The icy captain couldn't help but smirk a little, even as much as he really couldn't stand him or that other oaf Kurosaki Ichigo--they were exceptionally nice enough to not make a big ruckus on this day. Also, he had a new great respect for his brother-in-law to be since he pulled him out of that depressive state, reminding him about the responsibilities that made their way into his life.

Sighing, he pulled the black tux from the plastic bag and slowly began to put it on his body. He honestly hated gigais, always hard to handle them and walk around like a normal human being--slightly stiff if he could add on the criticism of them. The black dress shirt blended well against his tan skin, actually make it stand out more since the entire attire was black, with the exception of the tie--which still was black but a blue dragon stitched to it; courtesy of his sister-in-law.

He stared at his figure after finishing putting all the clothes on him, he stood out handsomely and strong on the suit. Perhaps he was still human, the look of a corporal lawyer (whatever that actually was) wouldn't be too bad on him at all.

Another faint knock came from his door, ruining his little rant on inside of him. A soft 'come in' escaped his lips, seriously abiding himself from bothering to see who it was. In the mirror, he saw Hinamori Momo standing still, shyly trying not to look at him directly in the eye. She wore a red-orange sun dress with her hair pulled up in a messy bun, while her light make-up made it nearly impossible to actually tell the difference from her regular self.

"What is it Hinamori?" Toshiro asked, turning around and looking at her brown eyes.

The fragile shinigami squeaked, looking at him with wild eyes as if there was seriously something to be afraid of him in the first place. She stared at his ocean green orbs, so hypnotizing as always and hard as they had been since she had met him. There he stood, in his wedding attire ready to be married to the girl she wished to be--had been wanting for quite a while now.

"Ah, I wanted to say congratulations before your big day." She smiled nervously at him, trying her best not to be drowned on his handsome features--even if he never felt anything towards her. "How--how does it feel?" She fidgeted while twiddling her thumbs.

"I would thank you, but I know your intentions are more then that." He muttered, gazing down at her and then turning around to the mirror as he fixed his mop of white hair. "What is it that you want to say Hinamori? Your words hide something behind them, always had been for the past ten years already."

She glared at him momentarily, fixing her posture to make her look as if she was unbothered by his revelations.

"I--are you sure that you want this? Getting married to nobility, knowing that you'll be forced to act and pretend around those nobles." The former 5th squad fukutaichou expressed, walking around the room for a bit while attempting to release some of her own stress. "I've never thought you would be that type of guy, the one to marry and commit to something that would last for eternity. You've changed, you know that."

"I haven't changed Hinamori, you have. After so many years, you've ignored me, and when you would see me you'll act as if you still liked me just the same as before the war." He glared at her, really thinking that she was in the verge of actually saying something more to him. "Nobility would be the same as being a captain, besides Karin doesn't particularly like that noble side of her. And, if you didn't know about my commitment then perhaps you didn't know me at all."

She looked like she had been slapped in the face at the last comment, feeling hurt at the fact that he spoke like that--so mature as always and extremely determined with his future already. He had changed, all of those once childish ways had vanished from his face and replaced with his new duties, that façade only faded in the arms of that other woman. Everything, those years spent together and acting like brother and sister faded into the past, replaced with only regret and jealousy.

Frankly, she did regret the fact that she had chosen the traitor over him--who would had guessed that Hitsugaya Toushiro would become a committed man and a responsible father in only a matter of a ten year span. Kurosaki Karin would be living the dream, the perfect husband and the child that had both hers and his genes, why couldn't Momo have that?

"Maybe, maybe not Shiro-chan. Would you make a mistake?"

"No, me marrying Karin is nothing of the sort at all. I have a duty for her, and even if she hadn't gotten pregnant--my feelings for her would had never change at all."

"Why, why her and not me?" Her tone was now pleading, she shifted towards him and grasped his hand. "What does she have that I don't? Power? I was once a vice-captain. Tell me, I would want to change so you could love me and not her."

Hitsugaya pushed her hand away, but she wouldn't let go; instead she hugged him tightly unwilling of letting go.

"Hinamori, I can't change my feelings in a matter of minutes." Toshiro expressed, feeling like this was going to take longer then anticipated.

"For me, you would. Do you still love me? You promised to protect me from evil once--are you going to break your promise." Momo looked up at him, a tiny flame of hope still burned inside of her heart. Longing to know that he still loved her was necessary. If he were to say that he wouldn't break that promise would be too good for her, she only hoped for that because then Hitsugaya would be forced to love her unconditionally.

The white haired captain noticing the subtle hint of a loop hole in those words, every little thing coming from his former friend was that of a desperate woman wanting to have everything in life due to her already broken exterior. The frown in his face knitted tighter, the anger shadowing that look as those teal orbs turned darker as the words sank in slowly.

"That promise was made to the former you, the one who needed rescue and protection." He pushed her hard this time, nearly knocking her against the floor. "I protected you because I cared about you once, but that past has been buried deep into the shallow dark side of my mind that isn't needed. All of those memories that I shared with you have been erased, replaced by other feelings and the present that nearly suffocates me at the moment." Toshiro ran a hand thru his white locks, and looked at his former friend again--glaring and wanting to vanish her to the depths of darkness.

Momo gasped, her eyes widening at those words because of their impact that which felt cold--the rejection was plain as the day. It hurt to say the least, so would that be the defeat?

"I--I thought you--cared." Her words chocked at the back of her throat, a sob coming around the corner as tears began to form in her wielding eyes.

"Did, are you not listening to me?" The white haired shinigami opened the door of the room and had his back against her. "Maybe, despite my shallowness and selfishness I had loved you in the past. I had hoped one day for you to be mine, but maybe that was only pity I felt towards you knowing that someone had betrayed you. Now, you might know how it feels to know that the person you loved will no longer be there for you. My heart changed for someone, Karin understands that me more then I do myself, and she's strong enough to know that things only happen. I hope for the day in which your feelings would no longer waver over me, so forget me and move on to someone who would love you for you, instead of loving you the way I once did." With that, he stepped out of the threshold and out into the hallway, leaving the other shinigami inside with a lot to think about.

+---+

Karin stared at herself in the mirror, the dress was placed on her body tightly as a normal bride would look like--she assumed of course on that speculation that was wearing thin in her brain. The guests seemed to be arriving one by one, perhaps the large underground training area was filled with the guests from Soul Society and the living--such a weird combination since it was the living and the dead. Her hair had been put in curls around her, the veil was clipped in and she looked fairly well.

The feeling of happiness surged like an electrical storm in the sky, lightning it brightly with its shocking colours. Somehow though, it was a suffocating emotion that seemed to only grow and become denser as the clock ticked loudly in the silence. The door opened as her orange haired brother stepped in, he clad himself in a black tux himself, the red tie standing out nicely against the dark greyed shirt underneath the suit.

"How are you doing here?" He asked, his smirk growing slightly brighter as he stared at his younger sister in her wedding gown. "I've never actually thought that this would happen, whatever happen to our old Karin?" He could not help but laugh.

"I'm--happy I guess." She scratched her head a little, but smiled nonetheless. "And, she's still here but only growing more mature."

"Um, never though I'd actually see that day." Ichigo laughed and earned a punch from his young sister, but he couldn't help it to reveal his own happiness.

Karin was a strong woman who seemed to be able to handle herself well, without depending on others to protect herself, but somehow, she was different from the usual arrogant teenager who hated to act like a normal girl. Life changed for her, the experiences that which took part in her life managed to mold into a different person for over the years.

"So, how do I look? I actually hate wearing dresses." Karin groaned a bit, as she continued to fumble with the ruffles of her dress.

"I think it looks nice." The orange haired man expressed, looking at her closely and seeing that she was moving on so quickly. "Everyone is almost here, only Ishida and his--whatever she is--are due to arrive anytime soon. So, guess this is it."

"Feeling nervous? Strange? Overly happy? Scared?"

"Nervous, nothing more I think. I've made sure not to actually drink coffee this morning just for this."

They laughed, but then quickly returned to silence as they looked around the room. Even as much as everyone said they were alike, Karin and Ichigo actually get close without needing to express it ever single second of their lives. The bond that existed was tighter then anyone would actually guess at it, each holding onto their own hopes and dreams, but sharing the same feeling of wanting to exceed their own expectations against the world.

"I'm actually glad that you're marrying Toushiro." He began his little talk, which he had been holding for a few days already. "He's strong, stubborn sometimes, but the one person who I know will make you happy. I've never had actually believed that you'll marry someone like him, except that sometimes you do the most mundane things I wished to fully comprehend--and I could never hate your judgement."

She gave her brother a strange look, one of surprised and extreme care for him as well. Those words were far too nice then she actually thought she'd deserved it, but they were really nice of him.

"Ichi-nii, you're going to ruin my mascara." She dabbed the tears from her eyes, and threw her arms around her tall brother and hugged him. "Thank you for always protecting me. You're always around to pull me from whatever shit I go thru, and never judge me for other reasons except being a complete idiot. And, I am grateful that you're my brother. You're more amazing then you'll ever know."

The amber eyes sparkled with happiness, it was so strange feeling such a suffocating happiness like that somehow it was far too much. He hugged her, and then pulled her at arms length while looking into her mature face.

"Thanks, Karin." A smile spread around his face, while she smiled back at him.

"Now, if you tell anyone about this I'll kick you ass." A threatening gaze escaped her eyes, and then turned into an innocent look.

"I know, no need to remind me about it. Come on, its about time this wedding starts. Wouldn't want old man to come and get you."

+---+

The soft water falling from the fountain filled the silence, coughs and whispers were filling the large room--echoing in the distance. Toushiro stared out, standing at the end of the aisle awaiting for his beloved to arrive, and then move on with their lives with whatever the distant future would bring. The overwhelming happiness was surging in and out of him, his heart was beating wildly like no other time before, his fingers shaking uncontrollably as never before. The feeling was new, knowing that there was a promise to make to someone that would last for eternity--that was possible.

All the guests sat there, staring merrily at the groom and awaiting for the bride to walk down and have the couple get married. The wedding was just like any other, the white tulips and the red roses decorating the rows of black chairs. The altar was decorated in white and icy blue mesh, while synthetic small flowers decorated it neatly. The grooms and bridesmaids entered--Ichigo was dressed in all black and a red tie, Rukia in his arm dressed in a flowing knee length scarlet red dress. Renji clad in a black tux with the royal blue tie, Tatsuki in his arm dressed in a long royal blue strapless gown. Hisagi was dressed in all black as well with a gold tie, while Yuzu was dressed in a golden baby doll type of dress--all of them wearing a bright smile upon their faces.

The white haired captain stood there, smiling a little bit towards them and then returning his gaze into the entrance of the large room while waiting for his wife-to-be coming down from the length of stairs. The cliché music began playing, though Karin had personally asked to have it change into the dramatic _Moonlight Sonata_, who had guessed that she had classic taste?

His eyes widened, the woman that walked besides his father-in-law to be couldn't possibly be the woman he loved so dearly. She was the embodiment of an angel descending from heaven, Toushiro didn't care how stupid or how corny that sounded, but how else could he describe her ethereal beauty? While looking at her it was like falling in love with her again, such beauty couldn't possibly become his wife?

All of it, the music, the guests--they were surreal and uncanny compare to what beauty she embodied in herself. The glistening tears that were forming in her dark eyes were so soft, her angelic smile radiating brightly as she looked into his ocean green eyes. They were like the shinning ocean water under the sun, the light gazed upon them and made them brighter.

Both of them felt like the air had suddenly disappeared, the pressure falling in their own bodies heavily as the happy feeling sank deeper.

"Here, I am giving you my daughter to take and to make her happy." Isshin smiled, not acting like his abnormal self just for the occasion. "Protect her with your life."

"Hai, I will." The white haired man nodded and took the bride's slender hand, such warmth she gave off.

They stared at each other with smiles on their faces, the flame burning in their irises as they heard the priest speak. The moment at which they existed was out of this world, neither of them thinking about anything else but their selves. At their turn, each said their vows and continued to show an unworldly happiness that escaped their lips.

The guests couldn't help but notice it, something about the couple was unearthly and so--there weren't sufficient words to describe the scene at the moment.

The 'you may kiss the bride' part came, each smiled at each other again while everyone awaited anxiously to see how they sealed the deal with the kiss. As they did, Karin closed her eyes to forget the world, to forget the worries that continued to haunt the back of her head. For Toushiro, he only wanted to forget that there was no one else watching them, and knowing that this moment only embarked the future that which he had never imagined.

Everyone clapped, whistled, and cheered at the couple knowing that they were made for each other even if at first the relationship had been slightly illegal. Somehow, the idea of the bride being a former human involved with a soul didn't seem so trivial, and now that didn't matter since they were both souls that had intertwined into a destiny that seemed so uncertain.

As for Hinamori, the one guest that which felt disgusted sat there emitting anger from her brown eyes. She hated it, oh how she hated seeing them together standing there all happy . The jealously, anger and every single feeling was present there--the resentment growing darker as it made a hole in her heart. Perhaps she should be happy, but how could that be accomplished when a girl who had been a shinigami for only a short few years managed to grasp a captain like Hitsugaya.

The former vice-captain wondered, she wondered how Kuchiki Rukia gained such happiness with the former ryoka boy; even she was allowed happiness. Hisagi, her former mentor at some point, being betrayed and having to battle his own captain could had done some damage--he too was allowed happiness. Maybe there didn't exist a happiness that which she could get a hold off, only feeling sorry for herself and angry at everyone around her was the only destiny that was allowed for her.

"I love you, Toushiro." Karin expressed as they held onto each other, while the rest of their guests enjoyed their food. They stood in a corner on the large room that which had been turned into the reception room.

"I love you as well." Hitsugaya smiled at her, caressing her cheek and still feeling like she was simply a hallucination created by his own mind. No, she was there holding onto him. "We still have the official Soul Society wedding, you know those will take a while."

"Refrain from reminding me about that, only because I am fucking nobility." The dark haired woman groaned, looking into those eyes that she always drowned herself in. "Come on, I need to get out because I need some fresh air."

The newly married couple escaped their guests, avoiding from being detected until they reached the door and stepped out of the store. The sun was sinking slowly on the horizon line, the indigo colours shinning brightly against the darker colours of the night sky that was descending in. The breeze was gentle as Karin dragged her husband with her hand down the street, her dress scurrying against the black pavement but didn't really care so much.

Toushiro said nothing as he allowed his wife to drag him down the street, the people watching them with smiles and raising their thumbs at him or winking at him. Somehow, calling Karin 'wife' seemed slightly strange for some reason, but it didn't bother him at all. The breeze billowing softly into her hair and the veil, her face shinning with happiness as her radiant smile made his insides squirm.

"You know, we left Tatsuya back there." He broke the silence, as she continued to drag him along the sidewalk and into an empty road.

"I know, but Amaya is watching him and dancing with him." She answered, continuing to take him along the road in which they first met when she had been a mere ten year old girl.

Suddenly, she stopped as the railing stood alone like it always had been, the sun was setting as she stared at it as the memories flooded against the two. Toushiro stared at it, simply feeling like it was completely unordinary, but understandable to say the least. The memories of those many years past, back when he still looked like an elementary school kid while she was a tomboy girl playing soccer.

"Remember, this is where I asked you to play soccer with me." Karin said, looking at Toushiro and then back at the sun. "I've never thought that I'd become a soul reaper back then, joining you in your world, and then marrying you after having your child. I find that to be extremely weird, but what the hell--my life has never been normal at all."

"I remember, calling me an elementary school student and all of that." Hitsugaya smirked, taking her free hand and holding it tight. "Destinies are hard to follow, so I don't have anything against the changes. We'll manage to move on in time, make our lives together with everyone around us, and then whatever happens next will happen."

She smiled at him and hugged him tightly, smelling the cologne and his warmth that radiating off of him and wrapping her in. It was ungodly knowing that she had gotten herself a man like him, someone who's strength meant everything, while the kindness seemed to always show itself in his eyes--destines surely played around.

Hitsugaya looked down at her and smiled again, her eyes shinning brightly as the wind breezed by between the two. He kissed her again, tasting her and smelling the sweet smell of her perfume, her soft black hair brushing against his hands. The softness of her skin was still surreal, she was delicate despite being strong and harsh--the complete opposite of what he thought she was like long ago.

Karin snaked her arms around his neck, pulling him down closer to deepened the kiss that was slowly turning more passionate. The softness of that white hair never really failed to make an impression on her, how could anyone deserve a man like him? Somehow, Karin didn't care as she allowed him to kiss her senseless as they often did.

+---+

The shadows in the large white room crept slowly, two figures--one short, one tall entered the half-lit room. A long chair sat in the middle, the tiles were all white just as the room; the two figures stood there in silence and emotionless. The short figure's pallid skin illuminated brightly against the darkness in the room, while the tall one had merely tanned skin with tattoos printed all over the body.

"What news do you bring?" A soft, but cold voice asked.

"From our informant," The tall figure began, his voice was soft like the wind.

"That the marriage between the shinigami Kurosaki Karin, and the captain of the 10th squad, Hitsugaya Toushiro has been sealed." The short figure finished, the bored tone lacing all of the words making them sound cold. "Our source has stated that Soul Society has yet to find out our plans, it seems as though that the child captain has said nothing about what he overheard on his stay."

The figure on the chair smiled softly, the figured grabbed a piece of hair, twirling it on those fingers as the eyes stared carefully at the other two.

"As expected, so predictable." The figure spoke, the smiling tone present in the voice. "Our former allies will be destroyed by their own people, the chaos and calamity I will cause can possibly end Soul Society. The two of you have done a wonderful job, but it is time to pay a visit to our former friends. The shock and disbelief will sink deeper, knowing that they no longer have me--Aizen's reign will continue on with our work."

"Yes, Empress." The emotionless voice stated, eyes carefully searching in the darkness for a smile of approval for the work.

"You're my loyal subject, I cannot refuse not to complement you or your associate." The empress smiled, standing up. "Prepare for going to the Karakura, we'll start our movement soon."

"Hai!" The two figures said, and disappeared out of the door.

The empress stayed behind, staring at the small window that revealed the moon that shone brightly upon the sands of Hueco Mundo. Everything seemed different from her perspective now, ruling over a place like this didn't held much meaning because she still couldn't forget her void of losing a lot of things. During almost 10 years life hadn't become easier, ruling over monsters that which barely understood the politics of a monarchy or whatever, was a hardship.

"Mother, will you not come to bed." The handsome figure entered the chambers, the softness on the face seemed far too kinder compared to the surroundings.

"I will my son, you don't need to worry about my well being. My work is only to make your father proud, to let you become him and let his rule live on." The empress smiled, turning towards her son and running her hand on his face. "You've grown so much my son, will you tell me what is on your mind?"

"It is nothing that you should fear mother, I believe that is only a trivial matter I worry so much." The son replied, looking out at the moon and its light that shone ever so brightly against the shadows. "Why do you enjoy the darkness? Do you not fear what lays beyond it?"

The empress chuckled lightly and returned her piercing gaze out into the window, the bars that split some of the view was no longer fearful at all as it had been many years ago. Holding power, holding rule over creatures that barely stood on their own--somehow that didn't compare to the feelings many years ago.

"No, there is nothing I fear at all. Fear is the link that weakens us from our battle, winning and striving for the best is the only best thing one should do." Her words grew softer, much to her older self. "Darkness is the only thing that can keep me from looking back to the past. The compassion has faded, the importance of my old life is no longer meaningful--so what I fear is only that I won't be strong enough to continue my plan on making you King."

"I see. Then, I assume that I must become strong like Father in order to let his legacy live on." Her son expressed, the handsome smile of his father was very much present there. "I'll make him proud, swear to rule over anyone who does not desire to be ruled by our ideals. Is that what you believe?"

"Yes, that is only my deepest wish." His mother sighed and turned towards the door. "Come on Makoto, we need to make way for a little visit soon."

"Hai, mother." He trailed behind her back into the lit hallway.

+---+

* * *

_Bloody hell! Its my 10 chapter! Wow, bloody brilliant. Alright, well I'll like to thank **realityfling18**, **happygirl24**, **Tsukihime nee**, and **ChidoriSakura112** for their reviews. You guys truly are the best, so I'll like to say thank you very, very much from the bottom of my heart. No, it is not the end to my story just yet, so don't panic at all. Alright, so much happening at once so where in the bloody hell should I start this? Um, oh well everyone you got the wedding. One thing I can tell you right now, is that I really suck at those scenes so please bare with me on that part for goodness sake. I swear, if my life depended on that I don't think I'll make it out alive XD! I know our Toushiro was extremely harsh against the ever-so annoying Hinamori, but wouldn't you tell her more then that? I would, if I could. Anyways, he was cold and harsh against her, but for this story it works well 'cos of what she did to him in the past and how she mistreats him badly just 'cos she was to be a little bitch about everything. So, I suppose I'll get some bad comments on that part--but eh, whatever. I threw Hitsugaya/Isshin moment for you, along with Karin/Ichigo brother-sister 'talk'_, _and I have to start writing more parent/child moments--I am so horrible on that department hahaha. _

_Okay, I am working on different little flashbacks--so it would no longer include so many Hitsu/Karin moments from the past at all. Now, they will include Ichi/Ruki flashbacks, I'll include future Ren/Tat moments too, and I'll work hard on the Hisa/Yuzu moments too. Okay, let me see what else. Oh, the ending! ZOMG! What is going on? Um, Aizen has a son? So random. What the heck is with the 'empress' crap? So many question, so many questions I know. If the last part of this chapter threw you off, my deepest apologies seeing that I have yet to plan what to do with that. Sighs--what will happen? _

_+realityfling18- 'Glad that you are liking the updates and that you are sticking around. I appreciate it that you take time to review, means alot. How did you like Hinamori in this chapter? I am simply glad that you like it when I update XD.'_

_+happygirl24- 'OMGSH! Byakuya has such an amazing voice, it was totally hot! Well, he does share the same voice actor as Tezuka Kunimitsu from Prince of Tennis XD. And, the song was wicked. And also! BLOODY HELL, you totally guessed on my plans--that was my original plan lol, its true. I even have it written on a notebook. O_O, you totally read my mind! Awesome ., and thanks for your review. Hope that you enjoyed this chapter.'_

_+Tsukihime nee- 'Its really hard to keep the suspense going, but I am working my hardest on doing so. Hope that you enjoyed the wedding scene--it was really hard to write it. Thanks for the review as well!'_

_+ChidoriSakura112- 'Well, you got your wedding XD, how did you like it? Good? Bad? I know I could have done better, but I didn't feel like make it so 'cliche' type of thing. And, well I am glad that you love the couple 'cos I do too! They are really good together I think, so I am simply trying to spread the love for the couple! Thanks for the review.'_

_Well, that's all I can say for now seeing that I think I'll start writing a bloody novel with my long author's note XD it would be rather wasteful I think, and I surely will bore people ever so thoroughly with it--so we'll keep it this way. Like it? Review. Hate it? That's alright. Off to write the next chapter!  
_


	11. The Threat Arrival

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or any of its content or characters. If did own such creation, then I wouldn't be writing this work at all. I rather not own it in the first place.

* * *

**The Bridge Of Silence**

+---+

+The Threat Arrival+

_Death was inevitable, one day one wakes up thinking that it might be the last day of their lives, but for Arisawa Tatsuki it seemed like the end to everything. Despite those two years of finding out that she had died in an accident, nothing seemed to made sense at all--even if her childhood friend Ichigo had explained it to her. Perhaps wrapping one's mind into that alone was hard, but having being told that she was some person that she didn't remember being--and then adding to the fact that after death one would forget the memories of being alive. _

_How come she hadn't forgotten the faces though? She could still remember Rukia, Ichigo, Ishida, Ichigo's family and all of the shinigamis that which she had met while alive, but not remembering much of it. Perhaps it was an unknown phenomenon that couldn't easily be explained, but how come Ichigo was able to remember all of his life and everything? That was odd. _

"_Oi, Arisawa, are you going to sit there again?" The 6__th__ squad fukutaichou, Abarai Renji, grumbled while carrying a pile of paperwork on his arms. _

_Sometimes he hated him for suddenly interrupting her, but somehow she did not mind his presence at all. The dark haired girl shook her head, obviously thinking too much made a brain feel numb. _

"_Ah, no. My apologies." She mumbled, whilst trailing behind the red headed shinigami. _

_Even after finding out so much, nothing about Soul Society and the Gotei 13 actually made sense at all. As much as one would want to, none of it would ever become so clear--even the fukutaichou couldn't explain since he himself couldn't remember his life at all before dying. _

"_So, are you adjusting well? I mean, with Kuchiki-taichou." Renji asked as he dropped the papers on the bin of the office and taking a seat. _

"_Of course idiot. No need to tell me or explain it." The short haired shinigami hissed, looking at the red headed male. "Look Abarai, no need to sweet talk me or anything like that. Girls like me don't love romance and all of that crap, now why don't you kindly shove off or something." _

_Renji's eyebrow twitched invisibly as he looked at the cheeky woman, how could someone like her speak to him that way? He remembered her a bit, not much since he rarely saw her back when Ichigo was still alive and there were mission back to the real world. _

"_I don't like you, haven't we already been in this conversation though?" He asked, wondering why she was suddenly bringing up the whole 'love' crap just because they had being teased by his friend Ikkaku. _

"_We have, but I just need to clear it up." Tatsuki commented nonchalantly, looking at him and then out of the window. "I still don't see why people assume that we are together? Its not like we are really around each other all the time." She pondered for a moment. Certainly they spent most of the day together doing paperwork, solving problems together, training together--_You get the picture now Tatsuki, no need to think more._ She was obviously going crazy._

_The red headed male obviously was aware that they certain did spend a lot of time together, but it was simply because they were in the same division--wasn't it? He sighed inwardly, reminding himself to beat up his friend on the process of making him doubt everything between him and Tatsuki. _

_She wasn't bad though, she was actually a pretty woman, loud and strong, but beautiful. He had seen how everyone complimented her though, always being the centre of attention without actually meaning too, or how easily she could deal with everything. _Tatsuki is off your league and not for you_. Somehow that hurt to think, but what could he do? Renji didn't know nor wanted to, simply wanting to feel something for someone other then Rukia, whom had been buried deep in the sand of lost memories. Moving on--he kept on telling himself that, but somehow it seemed as though it only held him back. _

_Actually, he was simply in love with her, but Tatsuki was someone who deserved someone that was like Ichigo. Chivalrous, strong, willing to protect, more of a gentleman, educated--all of that--and he was no that. Would she care though? He wondered. _

"_Oi, you're drooling on yourself!" She smacked him in the back of the head, and laughed. How beautiful did she look. _

+---+

"Daddy!" Tatsuya squealed happily as he watched his father entered the room.

"You're home rather early?" Karin looked at her husband and smiled, while picking up their son. "He's been calling for you all day--I am still shocked at the fact that he's speaking so early."

The white haired captain mused silently as he held onto his son, his son was so much like him it was still surprising to him.

"Maybe my child genius genes managed to show on him." Toushiro smirked, while his wife scowled at him and punched him on the shoulder. "What, I am really serious about it though. He's what now--March to October, he's seven months."

"I am aware about our child's age Toushiro, but still. I think he'll be an early developer, except that it isn't the case here." She expressed concern about her child. "I'll have to go see Unohana-taichou to see if his levels of reiatsu don't go haywire because of what I gave him."

Hitsugaya nodded and held Tatsuya at arms length, the goofy grin that he had was expectably adorable, who would resist such grin? No one really, it was such a strange thing to everyone's mind. How come could all the Kurosaki offspring's could be so resistible? Toushiro really did not want to think about such trivial things, the matter at hand was that perhaps his son could gain the same experience as him--be a child prodigy and become a full time shinigami before anyone would know it.

He knew for a fact that his nephew and niece were to graduate the academy in less then three years, it was obvious that they had gainedc such strength like his brother-in-law. Sighing, he gave up on thinking about it more thoroughly because he was so tired from all the work from his office, the one that his fukutaichou always avoiding due to that sake.

"What's wrong?" The dark haired shinigami asked, while serving the white haired shinigami a cup of tea and a bowl of fruit. Noticing the frown on his face, it was so obvious that it probably had something to do with his vice-captain.

"Nothing, too much paperwork because Matsumoto left the office again. That woman is seriously becoming more troublesome." The captain grumbled as his son began to take some fruit on his tiny hands.

"Um, nothing much I can help with that. I don't fancy the easiness, why hasn't Yama-jii made any progress on investigating." Karin inquired, sitting next to her husband and drinking her own cup of tea. Changing subjects seemed better then having him complain, obviously the job was hard on him.

Both sat in silence, their minds filled with so much worry despite the peacefulness that had settled in Soul Society--it was rare for such silence peace to truly exist. Karin had only being called five times to deal with a couple of Hollows, while Toushiro had only being stuck doing nothing but paperwork. That didn't fit so well though, there was bound for something bad to make its way to them--when was it going to happen though?

"Butter!" Tatsuya giggled while stretching out his arms to touch the black butterfly that entered the room.

"A Hell Butterfly?" Toushiro raised his hand up.

"All captains and vice-captains must report to the meeting hall immediately for a captain's meeting. Attention, all captains and vice-captains report to the captain's meeting hall for a meeting." The message ended there.

The 10th squad captain stood up and roughly fixed his shinigami robes, while handing his child back to his mother and then fixing his sword. His ocean green eyes holding an emotionless look, somehow he didn't seem so worried about whatever it was that would be said in the meeting.

As for the 9th squad third seat member, she stared at him and nodded apprehensively knowing well that something was bound to happen soon--so she did said nothing at all. Could it be possible that whoever was their new enemy was slowly marching up to the plate and starting their game? The motives perhaps had changed drastically, no one knew or could answer it because the only thing that anyone knew was that there was something far darker and dangerous out there.

"I'll be back soon, take care." Toushiro walked up to Karin and kissed her, leaving her wanting for more.

"I hate it when you tease me." She grumbled, feeling dizzy at that kiss.

"We manage to get by, but remember that it was you who began the game." He smirked at her and ruffled his son's hair.

"Ah shit, I hate you." There was nothing else said with that, because it had been true for the most part. "I'll kick your ass tonight for it!" She called after him as he left.

"I'm sure I'll like to see that." He turned and left without another word. Even if they didn't express love like normal couples, they were always teasing each other or trying to see who would crack first on whatever little contests they would have against each other.

Of course, they were never a normal couple since the beginning.

+---+

Ichigo stared out the window for a brief moment, thinking about what he would do once he would get home because it seemed that Rukia was hiding something from him. Neither Amaya or Kazuki were saying anything, mainly because they rarely spoke so much since they were so busy with the exams in the academy.

He worried the most, his wife was rarely the one to keep things to herself like that--it seemed as though lately she hated to be near him. The frown that was always placed upon his face furrowed darkly, knowing that his feelings were being slightly rejected were worrying him and it also angered him.

_What the hell is she thinking?_ He thought without noticing the Hell Butterfly that had flown inside the room. The breeze of Autumn seemed welcoming as it was cool, the summer air had faded long ago, and now the fall was easily welcomed. The peacefulness somehow did not fit the picture at all, the silence and all the happy feelings couldn't possibly suddenly exist like they were at the moment--could they?

"Kurosaki-taichou, there's a captain's meeting." Hisagi interrupted him, barely breathing as it seemed as he had ran his way to the office.

"Ah, my apologies for actually neglecting the Hell Butterfly. Come on Hisagi, we must go at once before we arrive late." The orange haired captain said, while picking up his sword. "Wonder what Yamamoto-soutaichou would say to us today."

Hisagi nodded, really wishing for whatever strangeness he was feeling to go away quickly. The quiet atmosphere was far too serene, he knew that much, everything and everyone seemed to be so relaxed about it that it made him annoyed a bit. Yuzu kept on saying that something bad was going to happen, hearing her mumble in her sleep or mentioning her nightmares about some woman coming to hurt everyone.

Somehow that seemed slightly off though for his fiancée though, her power was that of getting into someone's head and creating another reality--like a dream-like state for the enemies, did her power work backwards as well? Could it be possible for her to foresee a chaos being built or something? He worried, but for now those thoughts needed to remain at the back of his head because there was a meeting at hand.

+---+

"My, my what would Yama-jii want a meeting like this?" Kyouraku Shunsui, the 8th squad captain said, as his vice-captain pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"All of our meetings are important, therefore I'll pay close attention. And, mind to remind you that all meetings are like this." Ise Nanao expressed, really wanting to smack him for being such a careless-free person like he was always.

The room was busily with noise, all of the captains and their vice-captains had entered the room busily talking about regarding the content of the meeting. The 12th squad captain held a big grin on his face, while his fukutaichou was looking emotionless as ever. Kenpachi and Yachiru stood there with what seemed to be happy faces because it seemed that for them it had been far too long--no action or fights--it was dull. Hitsugaya and Matsumoto stood there, he stared around the room and looked at everyone going to their usual positions while his fukutaichou was talking a bit with Hisagi about trivial matters regarding the 9th squad fukutaichou's wedding.

"I wonder what it is that he'll inform us about? I am rather eager to know what he has found." Ichigo began a conversation with his brother-in-law.

"I wished to know since there hasn't been any movement from the special forces at all." Toushiro replied with a nod. "You have not told anyone about your theories, have you?"

The orange haired captain shook his head, perhaps only Renji was the only person that knew something seeing that he had been the one to say anything about it. The only point in which both agreed was that, maybe the enemy was going to use their former friend against them--if she had been captured or something.

"Only Renji knows, he was the one who mentioned something a long time ago. He has his own suspicions just as I do." He mentioned, amber eyes wondering around the room for eavesdroppers. "They are the same as mine, therefore I know that he'll say nothing to Byakuya just yet--so we'll discuss this later."

Suddenly, everyone stopped their murmurs and stood silent as the 1st squad captain entered the room followed by his vice-captain. Everyone thinking the same thing, wondering what development they had on the enemy.

"Ma, Yama-jii, what is this meeting about?" Kyoraku asked, being the one to always break the silence or make a silly comment.

"For ten years we have lived in peace, without being suddenly risen up into rebellion, but we have faced many defaults during those ten years." Yamamoto-soutaichou opened the meeting, glancing around the room and seeing the faces of the captains and their vice-captains. "During this period we have welcomed new members, we have allowed others to move up or being stripped from their duties. The hardships that we have faced cannot be compared to the loss from ten years ago, the wounds that still reside within our spirits and thoughts. We--who only seek to keep the balance of life--have faced tremendous amount of forces."

Everyone thought of it being true, but haven't they had heard that before? Being reminded though was the only reasoning that could keep them aware, knowledgeable about the things that took place outside of their world.

"It has come to my knowledge," The old captain continue, clearing his throat as people seemed to be confused. "that the enemy has made a move already. I have invited a guest, who holds much more knowledge from the human world then anyone. The one who easily is available to help us."

Their heads turned as the large wooden doors opened, the bright light from outside was blinding. A shadow stepped into the threshold, slowly the doors closed and revealed the blond man everyone thought of a banished from Soul Society. He was dressed in normal shinigami clothes, his sword was still the cane he carried--sometimes things never changed.

"Ah, Urahara?" Ichigo looked at him, confused as to why in the world he was here.

"Ichigo-san!" He popped out his fan and hid his face, a custom he never seemed to drop at all. Ichigo only shook his head.

"Urahara Kisuke!" The elder captain silenced the whispers that had suddenly broken out. "In spite of being granted access back into Soul Society, you are to abide by the rules still."

"Hai, Yamamoto-soutaichou." The blond shinigami bowed. "I shall explain the developments of my research, if I may?" The commander captain answered with a nod to allow him to continue. "It seems as though the seal of something far more powerful then the Hogyoku."

"What do you mean?" Ukitake asked, horrified at the thought of knowing that something far more powerful actually existed.

"My studies of the finds that Neliel and Yourichi have brought me, their detailed descriptions about the power that which flows from the item." He continued his explanation, it had to be extremely thorough and meticulous. "The energy seems to be at least 10 times or greater than the Hogyoku. It seems that whoever is in power of it easily is able to--revive. The evidence of such tests have been seen, Neliel, the former Espada stated that she had seen Hollows, Arrancars, and Fraccion being used for such. And such evidence, has been send to the research lab; that which is being process by Mayuri."

The 12th squad taichou smiled and stepped forward, his manor was always strange and creepy for those who weren't appreciative about science and all of that. Research was his style, the thing that made him famous all over Soul Society, and also the one person who could easily find the truth to something that sometimes seemed far too complex for a normal mind. The borders beyond the rationalization that normal beings held was the stem of humanity, the thinking and realization that which a human needed in order to achieve the best there was.

"The rations that which the Hogyoku compared to the new power, is that of greatness. A being who is capable of reaching on making the phenomenon of raising the death." Kurotsoichi-taichou smiled wickedly, it seemed as though everyone was lost. "Big utilization of words wouldn't be enough for the minds of the lot of you to comprehend. Let me rephrase what I want to say. The Hogyoku was the beginning, a power that Sosuke tried to use in order to create the key. Becoming ruler of Soul Society was simply the beginning of his dreams, but someone seems to be going farther then just creating a powerful sphere again. The power of such object though, it seems as though it is to regenerate, to recreate a life. Possibilities that if some tissue or a part of a being is found--that power can easily--create the being again. Giving life--a renaissance period."

Both Toushiro and Ichigo's eyes widened, the confusion was no longer part of it, but the horrid thought of something to recreate a being that no longer existed. Even if a power as such could exist, bringing back the dead was going against the laws of life and death.

The meeting continued, shocking findings and frightening things from Hueco Mundo were simply becoming far more terrifying then the war against Aizen. His ideals of becoming kind, standing atop the God that which existed somewhere was becoming far more sinister. Darkness falling into the greater point, the ideals of bringing back the dead; could such idea exist though?

+---+

The orange haired shinigami slump against the couch, unable to pull his mind away from the meeting--everything slowly becoming heavy on him. He knew that the beginnings of such sinister thing, a thing similar was that to Inoue. He punched the couch, how much he hated to think of that name alone.

"Ichigo, level out your reiatsu!" Rukia exclaimed as she had fallen on the floor.

"Rukia, sorry." He stood up and went to help her up. "I--sorry."

The petite shinigami said nothing, it was obvious that he was bothered by the meeting and she easily could relate to the feeling. She looked at her husband, anger and confusion flooded the expression he was carrying at the moment.

"Ichigo." She whispered his name, making him look down at her. His amber eyes searching for something. "I--I'm with child again."

At first, the thoughts of her being disgusted by him were very present there. Persistent little thoughts, he was shocked to hear that. Ichigo couldn't resist his feeling as he placed a kiss on his wife's lips.

"I thought you hated me." Ichigo laughed, kissing her again. "I'm glad to hear it, when did you find out."

Rukia was shocked that he was reacting like this, even though it wasn't the time to express such happy news but at the same time her husband needed something good to hear.

"Ah, three days ago." She bit her lip, looking away briefly knowing that he'll be angry about it.

"Thank you Kami-sama. I was thinking of the worst, but I'm glad to hear it." Ichigo smiled, picking her up and carrying her to their bedroom.

"Ichigo…stop…put me down!" The dark haired shinigami laughed as he dropped her into the bed softly, and him falling besides her. "I'm really happy, and I know I shouldn't have suddenly dropped it on you like that. Its not the time and place with all of that, you know."

Ichigo stared at her violet orbs that were warm, pools that could easily pull him inside and drown in blissful happiness. It seemed strange though, how could falling in love with a shinigami before being made an actual shinigami, then marrying her and having children. Love could be considered like an impediment doom though, easily one could be blinded by jealousy that lead to other things, but for Ichigo it had simply become the beginning of a world without rain.

The orange haired shinigami had fought so hard in order to get rid of the hollow that lived inside of him, finding a cure had been a long process since he couldn't do much about it, but somehow even if there wasn't a drug or anything--it had died when he had giving up his life willingly. Perhaps that couldn't be explained though, even if a scientist took so long to find a relatively rational conclusion to that--it wouldn't suffice though.

At least, he was thankful that Rukia had never left his side at all, and she still stood besides him and would always in the years to come.

"I'm happy though, you are giving me a life that I sometimes don't know if I have deserved such life." His amber eyes were glazed with happiness, and she was the only one to see most of it.

"I think I do, and you do deserve it." Rukia kissed him, drowning on his taste because it was so suffocating and unable to go past it. "I love you."

"I know." He smirked at her and she laid her head on his masculine chest. "I'm tired, I need a nap."

"What about the division?" She asked, forgetting that there was a job to do.

"Don't--Hisagi will take care of it." He yawned on cue, and closed his eyes.

+---+

The wind was cold now that night slowly ascended, the sky turning indigo as Toushiro stared at the warm colours as his wife laid her head on his lap. It was extremely rare to have a relaxing few hours once in a while, but sometimes it could be dull though. His mind couldn't easily wrap itself upon the data given at the meeting.

Could something actually exist to create or raise the dead? The trivial matter was hard to comprehend, to completely become so accustomed to hear it or wrap a mind into. He groaned, looking down at Karin as she slept soundly on his lap.

"I can't believe it." Hitsugaya stated, grumbling and feeling frustrated suddenly.

"No one can." Karin expressed, sitting up suddenly and stretching. "Where is Tatsuya?"

"Asleep in the bed. I put him inside since it was getting cold for him." He answered, looking inside. "He seemed tired, play time drained him today."

A brief silence fell in the air, the only noises were the light breeze that blew against the tall grass blades--whooshing around. Fall was in the air obviously, but it seemed as though this year would be the early start of winter as Karin could easily smell it out in the air. The wind whispered to her, even if only the mist easily connected more with her--the wind was another friend. _Danger_, the wind whispered on her ear softly.

_There's a danger approaching. Prepare. Watch out. Be careful._ The tiny voice in her head kept on repeating the same thing. _She's here. She'll come for those who ruined her. The dream is still alive. The rules have changed._

The air turned condensed as the mist swiftly appeared, approaching fast around her as she opened her eyes in her inner world. The grass was moist, cold as she stood there in the middle of the large field that was always empty with the exception of the small flowers that were red compared to the black and white contrast of the scene.

_Karin, be careful._ The female voice that came whispering in her ear startled her. _She's searching for a source, so divine and strong that is easily combined._

"What do you mean?" Karin's voice was a whisper too. "Who is the woman you're speaking about?"

_Her ties are linked to you, not by birth or anything._ The voice continued, it seemed so soft that it felt as though it caressed her._ She knows everything, the weaknesses and the strength. She's not alone in this game, not at all as she was alone in the past. Be careful, she could destroy with her powers alone a civilization._

The mist continued to become more denser, colder as Karin began to shiver uncontrollably. In a certain point in the middle of the field though, a woman appeared suddenly. Her body was made from the mist, her hair was long and black, her eyes were blank though as an ancient Greek sculpture. No, the woman was like a Greek goddess.

"Who are you?" Her voice quivered with the cold, as she continued to shiver.

"Ah, you have met me before. Karin." The woman approached her. "You know me, yet you fail to call my name still even after you use me in battle. What happen to our bond?"

"Yozora no Kiri." The name wasn't new at all, Karin knew that. "What you trying to tell me?"

"Ah, alas. You have remembered my name." The goddess smiled brightly. "Yoru no Hana has informed me of it. She's nice, no wonder she's my sister."

Why wasn't any of it making sense at all? The dark haired shinigami was confused, completely shell shocked at the fact that her zanpaktou could know about her sister's zanpaktou. Everything was strange now, she was lost.

"Have I mentioned I like Hyorinmaru?" The woman expressed. "He's extremely nice, no wonder we get along so well. Zangetsu is fairly shy though, just like your brother. Sode no Shirayuki is a good person too, beautiful woman if I must add."

"You're freaking me out." Karin grumbled, scratching her head. "Tell me, did you brought me here just to tell me useless shit?"

The woman frowned, pouting as she sat on an invisible thing and began to float in the air.

"Of course not, I am warning you." She stated firmly, her eyes suddenly turning to her and narrowing. "You have to be careful. Hyorinmaru will warm Hitsugaya about it too. All of us know, there's danger that approaches that could end our existence. Do be careful now."

She disappeared suddenly, leaving only the after image of her smile and eyes. The place turned dark, and Karin was brought back to reality.

"Karin?" Hitsugaya looked at her worried expression, bewildered in many ways.

"Did…did you?" She asked him suddenly, getting off his lap and looking around. "Yozora no Kiri has warmed me."

The white haired captain saw the seriousness on her face, so concerned and shocked at the same time. He too knew the danger though, Hyorinmaru was quick on telling him about it. Who was it though? He was lost on that alone, knowing how all the zanpaktous could easily communicate with each other.

'Alert! Alert! All captains report to the meeting hall. Emergency, all captains and vice-captains report to the meeting hall.' The voice of Kotetsu Isane came suddenly around. 'All captains and vice-captains report at the meeting hall at once. An attack has started, everyone report immediately.'

Both shinigamis stood up quickly, each grabbing their swords as they went to see their son. The warning had come so suddenly, it send chills down Karin's spine as she looked at her son and afraid to know what the alert was about.

"Karin, Toushiro!" Ichigo entered suddenly. Rukia and their children trailing behind him. "Kazuki and Amaya will watch them. We must go at once."

"I'll take them with me to Tatsuki's, all of you go." Karin ordered them. "Kazuki, Amaya. Go Ichi-nii, Toushiro, Rukia-nee."

"Alright, come on then." Toushiro ushered them out, but before leaving he kissed his wife. "I'll find you and tell you, perhaps we might go to the real world."

She nodded and kissed him again, before all of them disappeared. Sighing, she turned to look at her niece and nephew.

"Come on, we should get going." Karin's voice was worried.

"Hai!" They said in unison as she picked up Tatsuya. They disappeared by using shunpou and they were off to find Tatsuki.

"What's going on?" Ichigo asked as soon as he landed on the room.

"There's being an opening from Hueco Mundo." Renji informed him. "Matsumoto, Ikkaku, Yumichika, and I were doing our rounds when the hole open and a bunch of Hollows stepped out of the hole followed by Adjuchas and Gillian."

Ichigo's eyes widened, suddenly realizing that things were suddenly going to start.

"Who was their leader?" He asked, knowing that he wasn't going to like the answer.

"_Her_, it was her Ichigo." Renji answered, lowering his head and then shaking it. "We wanted to attack, but she--she has studied our attacks for too long and she anticipates them easily. But, that's not the problem there. It seems that Aizen--that bastard left an heir behind."

The soutaichou entered the room, giving out orders and informing everyone about the threat. Attacks again Inoue Orihime were going to start, along with those who were under her ruling. It seemed as though she had sent a message regarding the fact that, she wanted to fulfil the dream of Aizen that had died during his defeat.

"Inoue Orihime is now an enemy. I expect for those of you who had taken a great like for her as a friend, a comrade, and gave trust must be put behind." The old captain stated, looking mainly at Ichigo, Renji, Rukia, Toushiro, and Matsumoto. "Kill or be killed by the enemy. I'll be sending Kurosaki-taichou and Hisagi-fukutaichou, Hitsugaya-taichou and Matsumoto-fukutaichou. Also, Kurosaki-fukutaichou and 9th squad third seat Hitsugaya-san will lead a small group to aid them."

"Hai!" The group answered in unison.

"Everyone, stay alert. Dismissed." Yamamoto-soutaichou addressed lastly.

"Rukia, go and inform Karin about this." Ichigo said to his wife. "Tell her everything, and we'll meet you up there. We have to go."

"I know, be careful." The petite shinigami kissed him and smiled. "I'll see you." He nodded before disappearing. _So, Inoue is involved in this somehow_. She thought. _I never imagined I would have to go against her, how bizarre that is._ "Wait, I can't go."

"What do you mean?" Ukitake-taichou appeared from behind her, he startled her.

"I'm with child." Rukia met his eyes. They widened, but then his face turn serene.

"Congratulations then, I'll inform Yamamoto-soutaichou. A shinigami with child is never a good thing to bring to a battle." The white haired captain smiled jovially, even as much as the time was wrong there was no way that anyone, specially him, would be so down. "Inform only Hitsugaya-san, she must know that she's being sent on a mission." Rukia bowed and disappeared.

+---+

* * *

_Wow, chapter 11. Well, wicked! I'll like to thank **happygirl24** for reviewing. Wait--guess chapter 10 wasn't that popular or something. Geez, sorry then. Well, at least someone liked it enough to comment. Well, I'm not going to get mad or anything, just a bit disappointed but eh. I'll like to thank **0jaz0**, **Krxys**,** noneurbeeswax **for favouring my story. Thanks a lot. **Krxys**, **noneurbeeswax **again along **o. Hoshi** with for alerting. Well, I don't know what to say about this chapter except that I am content with some parts, but with others I'm still a big awry about it. So, I'll have to see how people react I assume. And, sorry for the late update but I've been stuck doing a bunch of crap and I have a exam tomorrow! Talk about a lot of things to do. _

_+happygirl24- 'Oh, you thought it would be Ulquiorra's? XD, I think its expected though and I'm glad you caught on it. Except, there's a twist on the part of Aizen's son. You'll see later though. Oh, it was a sexy voice, I think I'd like to have a boyfriend with a voice like that...okay that sounds completely absurd itself, but eh. A girl can only dream XD! And, I don't mind yaoi much really, and I'll say it would be weird hearing the voice not sound the same. Kind of confusing, but I think you know what I am saying. Hope you liked this chapter.'_

_Also, happygirl24 gets credit for helping me on deciding with the names of the zanpaktous. Thanks to you, now I no longer have to sit around doing research. Now, its going for the hard part of actually thinking a form. Sighs, well I'll see what I can come up with though. I have ideas, but I'm not so sure about how to develop them. Like it? Review. Hate it? That's fine.  
_


	12. Bleeding Black

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. I have no excuse or witty remarks today, but regardless, there wouldn't be no way I would ever own Bleach.

* * *

**The Bridge Of Silence**

+---+

+Bleeding Black+

'_The fear of the night that gallops silently,_

_The screams whisper ever so gently in the wind._

_All the blood that is spilled is smearing,_

_And the soft chilling wind smiles softly in the night.' _

_-Y.I.  
_

+---+

Ichigo couldn't think anymore, couldn't concentrate on the fact that he couldn't possibly allow his wife and sister to go with them. From the reports from 12th squad, it seemed as though there were three Espadas that were unknown to them along with Aizen's son. He stood there gaping like a complete idiot for a second, hoping and wishing to have never let this day come to this at all because it only became a heavy burden.

Hitsugaya noticed him looking solemn, sadden at the fact that he would have to fight his friend--though the feeling wasn't new to him at all. Clearly, the white haired shinigami remembered the time in which he too, fought against his former friend as well. The sudden feeling had been a setback, pulling him under a state of shock and worry. The look upon Hinamori Momo's face would never fail to leave his mind at all, even after all of these years that it had gone by.

"I can't allow Karin to come at all." The orange haired male suddenly said, turning around swiftly to leave the room. Hitsugaya trailed behind him, clenching his fists as he suppressed his feelings inside of him.

"I'll tell her about it, though she won't like it." He said, as the two captains shunpoed their way to find the women and announce the sudden change of plans.

"I know, she'll most likely kill me if I don't get killed in the real world." Ichigo tried to make a joke, but only earned a glare from his brother-in-law.

Knowing that Inoue Orihime was the enemy seemed still farfetched, a hope so far away to not having to see her again after so long, and knowing that she perhaps had a grudge against him. Despite the fact that he felt hurt, it wouldn't make a difference now since she had been plotting against Soul Society just like Aizen had, and the only thought that thoroughly confused him was the fact that Aizen had a son.

Hitsugaya found that hardly believable in the beginning, could he have being able to actually have children with a human? Well, that could be true seeing that he managed to have a child himself with Karin, but she was already a shinigami then. All of it confused him though, and he knew that his brother-in-law wouldn't like fighting this time around at all. For now, he needed to focus on how in the world he would have to face it himself as well.

+---+

The feeling of dread was keeping Karin from actually doing anything about it, how come her brother had suddenly said that she was not allowed to go with them to the real world. She stared aimlessly into the open space, finding it hard to push away that feeling , and she wanted for Toushiro to come back at the moment. Tatsuya laid asleep after she had gone to pick him up, and somehow the feeling of knowing that something bad was going to happen was haunting her deeply.

"Karin, are you alright?" Rukia asked her, putting her hand on her shoulder. The worry on Karin's face wasn't leaving, and the petite shinigami wasn't getting a good feeling about it either.

"There's a feeling that something bad is going to happen." She expressed, sighing in defeat at the fact that there wouldn't be a point on thinking so much about it.

"I know the feeling, I'm worried about Ichigo as well." Rukia expressed, looking down at her stomach and putting a hand on it. "Ichigo had his reasons for not taking you."

The dark haired shinigami groaned inwardly, punching the wall slightly feeling frustrated at the fact that her brother and husband had gone, and she knew there was a feeling of loathing coming from Ichigo towards the enemy. Inoue Orihime, that struck as rare for her knowing that she couldn't possibly hurt a fly at all because she hadn't been willing to attack anyone at all from the stories that Rukia and Ichigo had shared.

"I can't possibly think about how Ichi-nii must feel right now, facing her again." She murmured softly, gazing at the sinking sun and holding onto one of her sleeves. "Opening old wounds on his heart never ends up well, never truly eases his worries or the fact that he failed on something."

She knew well that her brother oftentimes blamed himself for a lot of things, taking up the burden of someone else's mistakes or failures was his thing, but now? Everyone worried, she remembered the time in which he would suddenly disappear to do his shinigami things, and making her worry sick about it. Karin hated that feeling, knowing that she couldn't do a single thing about it because there was no way of helping at all.

Rukia saw the pained expression on her sister-in-law's face, that void that which could only be shared between siblings because she knew also about how her husband felt guilty. She understood as well, but what could it be done about it? There was only so much that Rukia could do to ease that, to slowly stop him from blaming himself more and more.

"Ichigo will do fine, he always has." She tried to stay positive, for herself and Karin. "If not, then he'll have to respond to me and you as well."

Karin smiled a little, and nodded her head trying to push all the worrying thoughts aside. "Thank you, Rukia-nee."

"Kaasan!" Tatsuya suddenly woke up, crying.

She looked at him and smiled, she had to put her hope higher and believe that Hitsugaya would get by with it. After all, he was strong and he believed in winning all the time, and he wasn't the type to give up easily in anything at all.

+---+

Hitsugaya was attacked first upon arrival, the powerful hit made sparks fly out in the darkness. The soft chuckle of the strange shinigami that attacked him was haunting, it was far too similar to someone from the past he refused to think about. Those same brown eyes stared at him back, there was no shock knowing that the boy had to be Aizen's son without a doubt.

"Hn, you are faster then I thought." The boy said, taunting him as he kept on hitting him and blocking as well.

"…" Hitsugaya said nothing, the enemy did not deserve to hear anything from him. His teal eyes shined brightly with the moonlight.

The dark sky was filled with tiny stars, the cool breeze gently wrapping itself around them and whistling against their ears. Spring was starting in Karakura, unlike Soul Society due to how different the two dimensions were. Ichigo was fighting against an Espada named Croix, while Abarai was helping Matsumoto with another named Jeazule, and Hisagi was fighting against Inoue by himself.

Even if this was a small battle per say, the Espadas were actually strong and so much like the previous ones that had existed. The jeering screams of the Hollows, Gillian, Menos Grandes and all of those lower minions could be hear from afar. The small faint blue and red lights could be seen, along with what sounded like cannon balls that echoed in the night.

"My father's zanpaktou surely astounds me a lot of times." The boy broke the silence, as the two were staring at each other waiting for the moment to attack. "I'm Makoto by the way, but no need for you to tell me who you are, Hitsugaya Toushiro."

That arrogance was driving the white haired captain insane, so foolish and completely naïve as to treat him like a weakling shinigami. Just because he was the son of a once powerful shinigami, but that only depended on the people and their will of wanting to fight. He swung Hyorinmaru into the sky and called out for him, the dragon appeared, attacking instantly.

Elsewhere, Ichigo had gone bankai mode against the male Espada known as Croix, who looked so peaceful despite being already cut. A deep gash ran across Ichigo's chest already, bleeding slowly since it was nothing special about the cut at all. Croix was becoming annoying, throwing around a strange liquid from the goblet that he carried on his hand. Though, the liquid looked yellowish green, and as it landed on certain spots it would melt it off.

Ichigo's robes were tattered already, holes here and there, and some droplets had managed to land on his skin; causing burns. His breathing was fast, trying to regain the oxygen back into his lungs. Slowly, he raised his sword up, while his reiatsu increased instantly.

"Tensa Zangetsu!" He cried out loudly, releasing the energy to create the crescent moon-like shape.

The Espada jumped out of the way, splashing more of the endless liquid around without a reason at all. Ichigo found that extremely strange from the beginning--unless there was another attack being planned from it. Ichigo's eyes widened, it seemed that not only the liquid was able to melt off surfaces, but it continued to bubble for some strange reason.

"I see that you have noticed it." Croix smiled widely, feeling proud of himself for managing to shake the orange haired shinigami. "My power is Parásito, the liquid is a form of a hazardous chemical that would burn things it would land on."

Somehow, Ichigo sensed that there was something more to it then Croix was revealing, but what was it? Suddenly, his arms began to burn wildly and he let out a scream, it felt like his flesh was being bitten by an invisible beast.

"Punción, Parásito." Croix was engulfed in the liquid that he had dropped around him. Ichigo covered his eyes from the blinding light, but then let out a loud scream of pain.

+---+

Karin couldn't stand still for any second longer, night had fallen suddenly and she couldn't fall asleep at all as much as she tried to do so. That feeling that something bad was going to happen would not leave her still, even though despite the fact that she did not want to think about it at all, but it was impossible. The old scar when the time she hadn't known that he had been kidnapped haunted her, making her fear that he would be taken away from her again.

"Damn it Toushiro, you better not fucking screw things up." She muttered loudly as she walked around, trying to tire herself out and perhaps go to sleep.

Currently, the situation was that there were a few Espadas that were alongside Inoue and along with Aizen's son. The silence was becoming more thicker, more heavier as the density of the air was thinning out and Karin's irises were becoming foggy.

'Karin, I can sense something bad.' Yozora no Kiri spoke, materializing in front of her.

"What do you mean?" She asked worriedly, turning around as she had sense someone.

'I don't know, but its not something good at all.' Her own voice was hard, confused at the strange sensation that was being hidden underneath the silence.

The dark haired shinigami stood still, closing her eyes to sense something that was bothering her, to pinpoint the certain strange sensation that was coming. That sudden feeling of worry and confusion wasn't helping, and suddenly there was an explosion. Karin ran, opening the shoji doors and looking around.

"Karin, what's going on?" Tatsuki appeared suddenly holding her son in her arms.

"Something is very wrong with this picture." She muttered, walking back inside and picking up Tatsuya up. Slowly, fire began to spread around a few buildings, the sirens blaring loudly against the silence--everything was going crazy by each second.

Both shinigami women took off, the other shinigamis appearing suddenly at the sudden explosions that were beginning to start. They arrived at the 9th squad barracks, where they had sensed Yuzu and Rukia from afar, all of the 9th squad shinigamis were running around as if orders had been given.

Tatsuki and Karin stood there, looking at all of the shinigamis leaving the barracks and were off to the open streets of Seireitei, while Hell Butterflies were fluttering around shinning in the darkness. Yuzu trailed behind the rest that were coming out, she seemed to be out of breath.

"Yuzu, what's going?" Karin asked, looking at her twin.

"There's been an infiltration on Soul Society's records." She spat out rapidly, her brown eyes opening and closing as she continued to gasp for air. "I--I was in the library looking at some records that Shuuhei wanted me to look at, and then, it happen suddenly."

"What do you mean?" Tatsuki looked at her, feeling chills running up and down her spine.

The golden haired shinigami sighed deeply, running back and forth between places truly worn one out, but at the moment it wasn't proper to think about it at all.

"I thought that I had sensed something, someone else's reiatsu in the room." Yuzu explained, carefully remembering almost everything. "I checked to see if there was anyone around, but I couldn't tell if there was or not. I was certain that there was someone else there--then suddenly I got knocked back and the explosion noise started."

Karin found that to be fishy, of course it was obvious that a shinigami needed to learn how to mask their reiatsu, but wasn't it strange for it to be used in order to get inside a place? A library was not really a place interesting enough, the hall of records held much more information; except that only captain class shinigamis were allowed inside of it.

Could there be someone working for the bad side? It was possible though, giving out information regarding how the Gotei 13 stood at in the current time, and there were only a few people that knew more then everyone else. She had more knowledge then lower seat members because of her husband and brother, nothing was hidden between them at all, but what of the others?

"Hina-mori." That was the conclusion to everything, after all, she was a master of kido and was the best of them all.

A motive existed there for her to join back, to get a feeling that her beloved Aizen-taichou still was alive somewhere, and perhaps be revived to return to his glory once more. Karin knew about it, that intimate obsession of hers with the traitor, and even after all of the bad things he had done to her; she was always devoted to him without thinking so much about consequences.

"Snap, Tobiume." The soft voice travelled with the wind, Karin managed to pull out her sword from her side and it crashed against the blade that came at her.

"Too slow." Karin expressed emotionless, while still holding onto Tatsuya and protecting him.

Tatsuki and Yuzu had shunpoed away, but were still close enough to stand there watching how Hinamori held her sword against Karin's. A petrifying look upon her face, murderous as her brown eyes stared at the small boy and at the mother--Yuzu wasn't really liking it.

"Karin-chan!" She called out, walking towards her sister. As she continued to walk, suddenly she was thrown back to the same spot she had been standing in. "W-what was that?"

"A barrier, only the most skilled kido specialist are able to create one like that." Tatsuki could easily see the barrier, even if it was invisible.

Both shinigamis stood there gazing at the other two, neither of them looking like they were moving at all and just looking at each other. Karin hated Hinamori to say the least, for always treating her husband awful in the past and for being a traitor, and she had been attack while with child in hands. Tatsuya seemed to only gaze at his mother, the look upon her dark eyes showed anger, and he started to cry.

"Now, look at what you did stupid bitch!" She shouted at the woman, stepping back and trying to calm the white haired baby down. "Are you trying to kill him as well?"

The shinigami stood there, panting hard as she looked at the woman she despised with all existence, and for taking away the man that had promised to protect her from harm. The betrayal had woven a wound inside, gripping tighter and tighter, and growing in amount. Now, the opportunity had come in which she had willingly given information to Inoue Orihime, telling her about how strongly Hitsugaya and Karin would be for their experiment, and in hopes of getting Aizen-taichou back to his right place.

"Kurosaki-san…Shiro-chan…Tatsuya-kun…Kurosaki-taichou…Kuchiki-fukutaichou…"Hinamori said in a singsong voice. "Are…only…pieces." A malicious chuckled escaped her, then stopping as she raised her sword up, getting ready to attack again."

The dark haired shinigami only had seconds to think for a plan, one that could save her son from being hit by whatever it was that the other shinigami would do, and it was only a matter of seconds. _You can do it Karin, don't be afraid._ Yozora no Kiri's voice spoke softly against her ear. _Call out for me, and the barrier will be broken. Trust me. _

"Fade…Yozora no Kiri!" Karin called out, her blade dissolving in thin air, and then cutting the barrier for an opening.

* * *

_I apologize deeply for the very, very late chapter, and for it being a short chapter. I lost some motivation to continue with this story, until recently, when my friend told me that I needed to get done with it. The process of writing this story has become so time consuming, plus on top of that I have school, two exams next week--so I've been under a lot of stress. Anyways, hope that this chapter isn't so bad because I am rather horrid at writing fighting scenes. Well, I'll like to thank for those who have stuck to this story and for keeping up with it, it also helps me on my motivation to continuing writing it. To be more precise, I think this story will come to an end pretty soon since there's other ideas I'll like to work on--and I'm thinking on going on a Hitsu/Karin crusade of writing fanfictions for them 'cos they are honestly my favourite couple. Totally besides the point..._

_+happygirl24- 'Thank you so much for reviewing, I would bake you some cookies and send them too you, but I'm afraid that they wouldn't be edible at all XD. Hope that you enjoyed this chapter, it was extremely hard to write.'_

_+Tsukihime nee- 'Its alright, I understand technology problems. I'm glad that you liked the chapter though, and my apologies for this short chapter.'_

_+WatermelonPrincess- 'Woah...lot of stuff happening in your life. Small advice, take a deep breath :D. Hope that everything is okay though, and I understand what its like to have homework being piled up along with projects and such--I was in high school once too lol. And hope that your friend is doing better, sorry that I can't say much but it helps that you are there for her. Its alright, I'm just glad that you take your time to read and review my story, makes my day to be more precise. Sorry for the short chapter though.'  
_

_Punción-Puncture, Parásito-Parasite--I'm not sure if that would be alright, but I'm not creative so much with the Espada thing, so those are the translations. Karin's zanpaktou details are still in development, but I think I like the idea of the 'fade' part since its mist. Yuzu will also participate--don't worry, and you'll see what her power is going to be like. _

_The OC Espadas were rather hard to come up with, so kindly don't take too much mind into them 'cos I did not feel like using some of the original Espadas and such for this chapter. I'll probably won't go into depth with the fighting scenes 'cos they are really hard to work with, and I don't much fancy them either.I don't know what else to say really, but most likely I'll only write on more chapter regarding fighting scenes and all of that, and something good happens along the way for our star couple. I will make a fighting scene between Hinamori and Karin though--wouldn't you agree? Well, that's all I have to say for now. Like it? Review it. Hate it? That's alright.  
_


	13. Bloom and Mist

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. I think that when I do own it, the world would disappear from the Universe. Therefore, I want neither things at all.

* * *

**The Bridge Of Silence**

+---+

+Bloom and Mist+

'_A drop that stains with red that pure white abyss,_

_Becoming ever so sinful and tainted in with darkness.'_

-Y.I.

+---+

_Karin stood still, holding onto her zanpaktou while still chanting her name inside of her head because she couldn't bring herself to reveal it just yet. For nearly a year and a half, she had spent most of the time studying and learning how to spar with someone else, but secretly practicing with the shinkai form for her zanpaktou. The difficulty that present itself with that alone was an arduous task to deal with, mainly when everyone only tried to pry into that privacy that which she wanted. _

'_My, aren't you a little secretive all the time.' Yozora no Kiri's tone was friendly, as always. _

'_I don't give a damn what the others will say, trust me.' She replied inside of her head, speaking to a zanpaktou brought closeness--at least that had been one fundamental that which she had learned in the academy. _

'_Really, do you think that will do any good during battles? Always pretending to act tough, fighting just because you feel like it.' Somehow, that hostility was always present and it never failed to show in the zanpaktou's tone. 'It doesn't do well for a heart to simply fight, a heart needs to have the need to fight for protect, not because its fun.'_

_The dark haired shinigami groaned loudly, knowing well that it was mainly true, but if the other shinigamis couldn't take her seriously; then what the hell was she supposed to do? Sit around like a five year old, being told what to do and such? _

'_Damn it, you're always stirring my thoughts.' She grumbled now, finding it impossible to deal with her at the moment. _

'_Really, that's why I exist. You know, these things exist to wear you down, to make you find a reasoning within yourself.' Yozora no Kiri expressed. 'Oh, I think its time to actually try out some of my specialties, don't you think?' Suddenly, Karin heard a noise coming from the forest, it was faint but she had managed to hear it. _

_The smell of Spring was stronger then usual, her hearing was sharper as she heard the small forest creatures lurking around, seeing the colours of the grass and feeling the wind so close. All of her surroundings became meaningful, clearer as the dark sky with the painted stars above--was that what Yozora no Kiri had meant? Out of nowhere, like a reflex, she brought her zanpaktou behind her to block the attack that was coming her way. _

"_What the…" The familiar voice came, so clear and innocent like. _

"_That was slow, far too slow for my own standards." Karin smirked proudly, knowing well that the long training sessions with her brother were paying off. "I could hear you a mile away, so simple." _

_Hinamori Momo pulled back, the shell shock expression on her face was classic, and Karin felt she had to give her points for wanting to actually fight her. Then again, perhaps the former 5__th__ squad vice-captain had lost her touch, but Karin could deal with that at the moment. _

"_Snap, Tobiume!" Hinamori called out for her zanpaktou. _

_For over the past three years, she had learned about everyone's abilities and how all of them fought, yet she was the only who was the mysterious off them all. A Kido zanpaktou, she had to hand it to her for actually wanting to demonstrate how strong she was with kido, but Karin wasn't allowing her to completely show off just because she felt like it. _

"_What do you want?" Of course, there had to be a reason behind that attack. _

"_I just wanted to see, wanting to know how strong you really are." She answered stupidly, looking timidly as always, but a sinister side was showing thru. _

"_Oh…well." The dark haired shinigami shrugged, her eyes were still closed though. She lifted her zanpaktou up, holding it with only her thumb and pointer finger. "Fade…Yozora no Kiri." _

_The wind whipped fast around her, wrapping itself like a tornado, pulling all of those things that were near closer to each other. Hinamori's brown eyes widened, the sword on her hand had vanished in thin air along with the wielder. Mist began to appear suddenly, becoming a blanket against the greenery scene around them, and everything slowly turning black. _

"_You wanted to know, right?" She whispered near the other woman's ear, so soft it tickle, but it felt frightening. "Though, its far too early for you to know what I do." _

_Karin knocked her out, it would be a bad thing if people found out more regarding her zanpaktou's power, and she couldn't deal with her blabbering like an idiot to everyone. Truly, if anyone were to walk deeper into the forest they would see the tattered and broken dummies, all cut up and looking like a million knives had grazed the dummies thoroughly without any remorse. _

+---+

Hitsugaya landed on the empty street, all of his strength draining out of him with each hit he was taking from Makoto. He coughed blood, the deep gash on his shoulder becoming agonizingly painful, and somehow it seemed that there weren't ideas as to how to end all of it. Everyone's moves were being read so simply, their enemies dodging their attacks like they were nothing--and Hitsugaya wasn't liking that at all.

Makoto was laughing at him now, that confidence made the white haired captain become sick to his stomach, that memory of the man that betrayed all of them. His brow was furrowed, sinking deeper and deeper as the pain was slowly coming to him; as the adrenaline was slowly wearing out. How could that boy be so strong?

That sword, that sword had cut into his former friend, his brother-in-law, Kuchiki-taichou, and Abarai-fukutaichou from what he could remember at the moment. The treacherous sword, so tainted with malice and loathing from its previous owner, holding a power that could put anyone into an illusion--it was a malignant object in the hands of an evil person as well.

"Ha, giving up yet?" The boy chuckled, he too was cut up, but only very little. "I thought you were supposed to be the great Hitsugaya-taichou? Or, were all of your stories lies just like everything else. A weak shinigami like you does not deserve to hold a life, a punishment is needed for someone like you."

"Shut up, what the hell do you know about what others deserve?" He spat back, coughing up again some more blood. "You're just the same, weakness blinding your power over truth. And, greatness is not always meant to be what everyone else makes it to be, and it can easily be the demise of others."

The boy stopped laughing, his brown eyes turning darker and colder at those words; somehow he still could not believe such a shinigami had actually destroy his father. His father had been more powerful, more able to create a common sense amongst creatures that lived freely, but that man before him. What had he known about loneliness, heartache--or any emotion whatsoever.

Makoto desired nothing more but to destroy him, to see him breath the last breath and to finally triumph over all of them. End the unnecessary beings that existed, those who held absolutely no morality over the utopia he wanted to create--but more importantly, he had to hold up his father's dream still.

"Kyoka Suigetsu." He whispered softly, watching the shinigami in front of him get a look of horror. Of course, he knew well that at some point his father had become frightening, his illusions creating confusion amongst Soul Society. "You will see, that I, Aizen Makoto will become ruler of Soul Society at whatever cost, and destroy the lot of you who killed my father."

Hitsugaya couldn't think, that weakness was far too dark to pull away from, to forget easily now that there was nothing to do now. Falling under that hypnotic state of Aizen's zanpaktou, all of those flashbacks were very much present at the moment…though why? That was enough though, seeing the same trick twice wouldn't work against the mind anymore--simply because only the same person could create the same effect.

There couldn't be an end though, Karin would kill him for sure if he dared to show such pathetic weakness against an enemy like that.

"Bankai." He shouted loudly, standing up abruptly as his reiatsu formed an energy field around him. "Daiguren Hyorinmaru."

The ice from the dragon wrapped itself around him, two large wings appeared behind him along with a tail, which both were made out of ice. Oddly enough, rain began to pour from the dark sky, forming a curtain around the sky and their battle field. The dragon head formed on his sword hand, it looked chilling and powerful from a distance.

"Ne, is that what your bankai is supposed to look like?" Makoto laughed, pointing at him like a stupid child as he was. "Its no big deal, nothing like mine."

Hitsugaya said nothing at all, his face remained stoically for the time being, it was hard to concentrate when there were wounds all over his body. Except, thinking about the pain so much would only become a burden for a win.

"Ryusenka!" He charged after him, still unable to think at all.

+---+

"Tensa Zangetsu." Ichigo released his attack, the Espada was cut in half, but that was simply the basis of his body component; since he was like a germ itself.

Ichigo's arms continue to burn immensely, but the rain seem to be helping with the matter at the moment. He refused to let himself think about the fact that this was becoming far too troublesome, all of his moves were being read by the enemy, and he was sick of it. The orange haired captain couldn't give up easily though, seeing his brother-in-law go bankai already against Aizen's son wasn't shocking, but at the moment he needed to worry about going home.

The gash on his back was becoming more painfully resistant, slowly making his body shut down as the parasite was eating his insides completely, even as he paid no mind to it. Ishida and Urahara had made their way to them, all that was left were the Espadas, Aizen's son, and Inoue. His amber gaze quickly turned to the woman, the former friend that which he had lost trust to; and the one that nearly cost him his life.

Why though? The reasons were still unclear, sure he wanted to kill all of those that stood on his way, but why had she defended that 4th Espada ten years ago? That was still confusing to him, but at the current moment, there was someone else that needed him to stay alive.

"Rukia." He whispered her name, the rain continuing to fall around him while drenching him entirely.

"You're far stronger then I thought." Croix smiled wickedly, licking his lips as the rain kept on falling against him too. "Such soft, pure taste the rain is."

"What the hell are you talking about now? Stupid parasite…" Ichigo coughed roughly, the air was becoming thinner for him because it seemed that the parasite was now attacking his lungs. The burning inside of him was becoming more intense.

"Ah, they are eating away your lungs now." The Espada chuckled.

"Bastard…" The orange haired shinigami voiced out, slowly though it was becoming harder to handle this fight. He closed his eyes, slowly his body was failing him as his sword slipped from his finger tips, and he was falling towards the ground.

"Kurosaki-taichou!" Hisagi yelled, quickly turning his zanpaktou around to knock the Espada out of the way. He was cut in half, an attack from Urahara managed to keep the germ-like Espada from joining together again.

Ichigo felt that anytime soon he would hit the ground, how stupid he felt for acting so weak like that. That feeling was supposed to have been surpassed long ago, training endlessly to become a captain made him stronger, but where in the hell were the results. Ending it like this would only show how pathetic he could be, how blinded he had become over the years, and he was sure that Byakuya wouldn't forgive him for acting so lowly like that.

"Kurosaki-taichou?" Hisagi had stopped him with kido in midair. "Are you alright?"

Was he? "I can fight…its only a flesh wound." He smirked at his lieutenant, glancing around for his zanpaktou. "Where's Zangetsu?"

Hisagi was still astounded at the fact that his captain hadn't died yet, but he was always honoured knowing that he was that strong. He handed him the black blade, carefully the other man grasped it tightly on his hand.

"Kurosaki-taichou, we need to finish this soon." He said,, holding out his hand for the captain to take.

"Thanks, Hisagi." Ichigo stood, staggering backwards for a bit. Slowly, the parasite inside of his body was eating him away and he needed to get rid of the Espada soon.

+---+

Hinamori stared at the woman she couldn't stand, that stance she had seen before in the past--the red form of reiatsu flowing around her was remarkably strong. Her gaze turned towards the small child, he seemed to be rather unaffected by it and it showed that his strength would be great in the future.

"Yuzu, take Tatsuya and stand back." Karin shouted, holding her sword up still at Hinamori while glaring at her still.

Yuzu nodded simply, shocked to know that her sister actually had to use her shinkai form to battle against Hinamori, but she could understand. She walked timidly, the after effects of the barrier still shocked her, but it had disappeared long before with the help of Karin. Reluctantly, she gazed at the killing stare upon her twin sister, her dark eyes glazing with hate and discomfort, worry and pain behind them.

"Karin-chan." Yuzu whispered, taking Tatsuya on her arms.

"Take him, now." Her voice was hard, restrained as it seemed she was having a hard time controlling her zanpaktou at the moment. "And cover his eyes, even if this is not Bankai, I'm afraid that he cannot see what is going to happen." The honey coloured haired shinigami said nothing, vanishing from sight and returning to the same spot.

Now that her son was out of the way, Karin allowed her reiatsu to increase more and more--it had seemed that the Kurosaki genes ran deep within her as well. This was no longer practice, the target wasn't a dummy made out of bamboo at all, and the target would attack back. Somehow, the nerves that were running around her made her scared, fearful that by using her shinkai form something would go wrong.

"We return again, right?" The brown headed shinigami stated firmly, holding her blade out for the approaching attack.

"It is not something to be questioned, at all." She stated, slowly the wind current was turning far more stronger against the normal wind. Its bitterness sweeping around, obviously it seemed that she could easily control the wind as well.

Only three years ago, those long weeks that which she spent trying to forget that had been hard, but now it had come to this. As much as hate and jealousy ran deep inside of Karin, she was the only person that she had refused to fight with because there would be some serious consequences. Despite the fact that her husband had obviously cut the friendship ties with the woman in front of her, it wouldn't be easily dealt with.

Except, Hinamori had dared attack her sister and her child, threatening the lives that were precious in her world was too much. All there was left to do was to fight her, to protect what was important in that world.

"Lets go, Hinamori!" Karin called out, the wind becoming far more stronger to create the same effect as three years ago.

The mist began to appear out of no where, wrapping itself thickly around to create that same dark sky with the stars, while the ground stood firmly still and becoming grassy. Even if that was the apparent illusion, Hinamori could not help but be impressed, impressed at the fact that this would be regard as the end of her. Karin stood there, her sword in her hands still--how come she hadn't disappeared yet?

Invisibility, wind, mist--it seemed that they were the components of that zanpaktou's powers. The dark haired girl stood there, breathing evenly as she was still not used to using her shinkai form at all. That feeling of something going wrong was still very much present, everything was crashing down upon her suddenly.

'You'll be fine, don't worry.' Yozora spoke to her, a smiling undertone very much present. 'Tobiume isn't that strong, years of lost practice makes a zanpaktou weak.'

"Why are you not disappearing?" The brown headed shinigami asked, keeping her guard.

Karin smirked, the mist was becoming more thicker with seconds. "It's the mist, there's no invisibility there at all. I disappear because the mist becomes dense around you. Only, it takes a while for those trapped in it to fully see it."

Without much more to say, Karin charged after her and swung her blade. Metal clashed against each other, sparks flying around the misty field, while the wind continue to blow around them. Clash. Clash. The resounding sound travelling for what seemed miles, its crashing sound becoming thunderous in volume, but neither were giving up easily.

Hinamori blocked, blocked the powerful hits from the other shinigami finding it that her hands were now shaking. Had it been that long since she had a fight? Obviously, it seemed that Karin spent most of her time sparring with strong opponents because her hits were easily dodged. One hit, it grazed Hinamori's thigh making her wince in pain.

With the help of the wind, the smell of blood surfaced making Karin gag at the sickly smell of rusted metal. She moved her free hand around, the movements caused the wind to increase in speed making the smell disappear. Slowly, the mist became thicker that the effects were starting to be seen as the brown haired woman could no longer see.

"Swinging your blade around isn't going to help, trust me." She smiled, congratulating herself. "Except, that I am far from done at the moment."

"Disintegrate, black dog of Rondaniini. Look upon your burning soul and sever your throat. Bakudo number 9." Hinamori called out, as the kick from the other shinigami was about to hit her.

Karin only had seconds to dodge that by waving her hand again, creating a gusty wind in order to block her from doing anything else. She stumbled back, her sword still in her hands as the small rosary chain dangled freely in her hand--the colour black still glowing in the mist.

"Bone of a straggling beast, spire, crimson crystal, disc of steel, when the wind shifts, and the emptiness ceases, let the clash of lances resonate through the relinquished castle! Hadou number 63, Raikouho." The yellow thunder followed Karin, even if the mist was thick that attack alone would find her easily, but she dodged it by blocking it with the mist.

"You're good, I have to hand it to you." Karin smiled contently, a cut was already on her face and she was growing tired. "Except, I have yet to show my full potential with my zanpaktou. Yozora no Kiri."

The mist thinned out, Hinamori was panting for air as she held her hands in front of her getting ready to use another spell. The sight in front of her shocked her, the blade that Karin had been holding earlier had shattered into a million pieces and were dancing around her like tiny diamonds.

"W-what is that?" She pointed, shocked to know what she would do next since nothing seemed to be working at all.

"Mist and wind, they are easily dealt with." The dark haired shinigami explained, making the flowing pieces of metal stop. "My blade shatters into tiny pieces, it is the same as Matsumoto's zanpaktou, but far more different. Fade…" She vanished from sight, running around the girl while throwing pieces of the metal at her with only a wave of her hand.

Hinamori felt the shreds of metal hit her body, cutting her flesh and leaving a burning sensation behind it. Slowly, blood was falling onto the grass staining it red, each droplet falling little by little around her.

"I call forth, from the depths of the sea and the heights of the sky, the element in between, Bakudo number 69. Genwaku Kiri." There had been no irony to it, simply the need to be protected from those tiny metal pieces that were turning deadly.

The brown headed shinigami swung her blade, hitting the other woman on the shoulder causing the wind to stop suddenly and the mist to momentarily vanished again. Only the pitch black sky with the tiny stars on it was very present, looking solemn inside this little world.

"Damn it." Karin hissed in pain, she felt her robes becoming soaked with her blood. That smell was becoming disgusting, but she couldn't continue controlling the wind anymore.

For a moment, it felt like this would be in Momo's favour as she walked towards the girl she couldn't stand to see at all. She had stolen a lot of things from her world, the man that was supposed to belong with her, and that perfect life instead of Kurosaki Karin being allowed to have it.

She gazed down at her dark eyes, filled with so much emotions it was impossible to tell what she was thinking to be more precise. Karin was strong, willing to do anything to stop the enemy--surely a great asset to Soul Society because she came from the Kurosaki family. A noblewoman she was, living the life of princess while Momo spent her time cleaning out places around the 4th squad, and healing weakly injuries.

"Hadou 90--"

"Don't. Dare. Finish. It." The voice of the other Kurosaki girl came. "Stifle, Yoru no Hana."

Hinamori gasped for air as the pollen from the flowers that had suddenly appeared from the ground, the spores glowed purple around her as they were impairing her from breathing at all. Had Kurosaki Yuzu gained shinkai form as well?

"W-what a-re y-you?" She managed to gasp out as she fell onto the floor, Yuzu simply looking down at her.

* * *

_Chapter 13...I'm on crunch time seeing that I just found out that once I move to my other house, there won't be no internet. Sighs, so I'm going to try to update as fast as I can for everyone. I'll like to thank my reviewers, you know who you are, 'cos you guys are bloody awesome for sticking with my story so far. The lot of you wait patiently for me to update, so that helps me while I write knowing that there's someone waiting to read the next chapter. Wow, okay--so I only have 2 days off school left, but I'm getting tired of having to work with Excel for so long now. Anyways, totally besides the point. Next chapter will be the end of the fighting scenes, I seriously am horrid with that, so I don't fancy this chapter much at all. So, my scenes aren't meant to be epic or good, so don't expect much. Sorry. Quick explanation, Karin's zanpaktou is like that of Matsumoto, but instead of ash is the bits of metal of her sword--kind of confusing in a sense, but hopefully you get the idea from it. She can also control the wind, though not as a big power or anything, just for her advantage to take along with the mist too. As for Yuzu's, I found that 'stifle' would be a good one for that one 'cos I was going with that idea of making hers be slightly off from her usual sweet character [another reason why I didn't made her weak]. Well...that's all I can say about that 'cos its hard to explain--that is why I loath writing fighting scenes._

_+happygirl24- 'Sorry, I had to develop that scene in my head more thoroughly. Hopefully it isn't bad 'cos I can't get too creative on the zanpaktou stuff. Hope that you enjoyed the chapter, thanks again.'_

_+Tsukihime nee- 'Same here, I know what you mean. Thanks again though, hope that you enjoyed this chapter 'cos I had a difficulty writing this.'_

_+WatermelonPrincess- 'You're welcome, I wouldn't want you to have a mental breakdown from a lot of things happening. Then again, I have a lot of those issues in life as well, too stressful and not enough time to relax 'cos of all of those things. I have no idea how in the world I handle the adult life, not easy I tell you that much. Talk to someone though when you feel stressed out, try not to think too much over the little things at all--makes it worse. And, thank you for understanding too :D. I try my best not make them so short, but can't be helped I guess. Hope you liked this chapter.'_

_Alright, hope that this chapter isn't so bad--I really don't like it much due to the fighting. Sighs, okay I promise that next chapter I will try my best to bring back Hitsu/Karin 'cos I'm sick of separating them. And, I'll probably move time in the next few chapters fast seeing that I don't want to be stuck on a certain month or anything like that for too long--makes it weird. I'll have to think of a name for Rukia's child that's on its way lol. Um, still have to decide the bloody gender! Oh, and Yuzu/Hisagi wedding--don't know how in the hell that would work out. And, Tatsuya needs a sibling sometime in the future too--ah damn that was a small spoiler--damn! Okay...what will happen to my other fave Ichigo? What about our other fave Toushiro? What about that awful Hinamori? Inoue? Makoto? Wow, too many things that need to be bloody cleared out! I think I have repeated myself many times, but you know what to do by now. Review please!  
_


	14. Rose Locket

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. Kubo-sensei owns all rights 'cos he's just that great, unlike I, who is only able to provide you with fanfiction.

* * *

_**The Bridge Of Silence**_

_+---+_

_+Rose Locket+_

_The forest deep into the training grounds of the 9__th__ squad barracks was peaceful, silent from those who rarely went out to take a stroll, since everyone was usually busy. Hisagi Shuuhei was tired of sitting around in the office all day, looking out the window and trying hard to avoid so much thinking in one day. Thankfully, Kurosaki-taichou had given him permission to leave early, even though it was only mid-day to be more exact--except he didn't care as long as he got the chance to get out of that stuffy office. _

_Even as much as peacefulness went, it too was boring as well. How did other people manage to enjoy that suffocating silence though? Hisagi failed to understand, or care for that matter. He went deeper and deeper, the mid-day sun blazing above the canopy of trees, the rays played on the green ground almost like they were dancing. Thankfully, inside of the canopy it was fresh and cool, compared to the hot summer day that Soul Society was experiencing now. _

"_Stifle…Yoru no Hana!" A faint voice called out from deeper in the forest. The noise of the cicadas could not compare to that voice. _

_The smell of flowers joined in on the fresh scent, they were sweet unlike nothing else--almost like honey. The dark haired shinigami found that odd though, that smell slowly becoming more sweet and sweet--but suddenly the air was thinning out. He gasped for air, dropping onto his knees trying to catch his breath but it was doing nothing at all. _

_It felt like something was compressing against his lungs, a sharp pain began to take place and slowly he tasted blood on his mouth. A warm feeling ran inside of him, his eyes stared down at the green grass were blood was dripping, and it seemed to be coming from him. Slowly, Hisagi was losing consciousness as he started to see spots, his hands becoming white as he continue to feel the warm blood around him. _

"_Hisagi-fukutaichou!" The same voice came out of no where suddenly, approaching slowly as he saw someone running towards him. "W-what have I done?" _

_Kurosaki Yuzu panicked, seeing one of her superiors laying on the floor on a puddle of his own blood. The crimson red colour staining the bright green grass, slowly she made the spores that were travelling in the air vanished before she would kill the man on the ground. _

"_K-Kurosaki?" He strained her surname out, coughing up what looked like pieces of his lungs. _

"_I'm…sorry, I didn't know you were here." She quickly said, putting both of her hands above his chest to heal him. At least, she had the training to heal minor things such as that, but it had been horrid that he had being caught under that. _

"_W-what were you doing?" Hisagi looked at the honey coloured haired shinigami, her brown eyes locked in concentration as sweat was forming on her forehead. _

"_I-I was training." Yuzu explained, though she did not want to really because the private training sessions were meant to be kept secret. _

"_A-all by yourself?" His voice was still strained due to the pain, but it was slowly going away. _

_Yuzu nodded, trying hard to concentrate her reiatsu on the spell she was using at the moment to fix the injury that her zanpaktou had caused. The thought of injuring a vice-captain was a very bad one, what if there was punishment for it? What would her older brother say about it? The Kurosaki name could no longer be put to shame, now that it was a noble family. _

_She began to panic without thinking so much, without thinking of the possibilities that would cause prejudice against her and her family. It was bad, so bad that Yuzu started to cry suddenly. That had been a long time, tears were for the weak, Karin often said that, but at the moment she did not care. _

"_Oi-oi why are you crying?" Hisagi raised up a little bit, all of his injuries had been fixed. _

"_I'm sorry…please." She was on her hands and knees, begging for forgiveness. "It was my mistake, don't take it out on Ichi-nii and Karin-chan, please. Punishment is only served for me, not them." _

_The 9__th__ squad fuku-taichou was confused, firstly there was nothing wrong at the fact that it had been his fault--walking around like a fool without knowing that there could be someone like her out here. And secondly, there was no big deal about it really seeing that it was an accident in the first place. _

"_No--its nothing serious." He attempted to explain, but she continued to sob. "Kurosaki, its fine. Really. It was an accident, it was partly my fault for not actually noticing your reiatsu around to begin with." Somehow he felt slightly pathetic to be babbling like an idiot, but he wanted her to stop crying over something done in accident._

"_I'm still sorry." Yuzu stopped suddenly, drying the remaining tears from her eyes. "I shouldn't come out and train like that, one day Yoru no Hana will kill someone because I got careless." He smiled at her a bit, noticing that it could be true. No wonder all of the Kurosaki nobles were strong, deadly to a point as well--so it was bound to show on the youngest too._

+---+

The night had become stained in red, being washed away with the rain that continued falling on top of the fighting that was being done at the moment, while buildings and other places were being torn to pieces. Inoue was having a hard time handling Hisagi-fukutaichou, who's mysteriousness truly showed on their fight after he had briefly disappeared to help Kurosaki-kun.

Though, her powers were no longer present since Shun Shun Rikka had vanished from her grasp, they weren't the ones to willingly join her evil plans at all. They had declared that they could not go along with her new passions, if she could simply continue being the good person that she had been once they all would've stayed, but her denial had ended the friendship there.

"You shouldn't have attacked any of us." Hisagi muttered loudly, grinding his teeth at the sight of the woman he couldn't stand to see any longer.

"Why should I care about your opinion for?" She asked coldly at him, glaring and wishing to obviously destroy him.

"You've made a mistake, it was far too early for you to think that you'll be able to taken on us like this." He elaborated better, holding onto his kusarigama-like zanpaktou. "You failed to notice that we weren't going to stay the same way as ten years ago, did you? Soul Society took upon the responsibility to learn new tricks, to train harder to become stronger to protect this place and our home as well."

"What would you know about care?" She spat back, clenching her fists tightly until her knuckles turned white. What did he know about her own hardships?

For ten years, the plan she had worked on in order to destroy the thing that invaded her life, ending Soul Society for good so she could go back to her normal life. Mainly, it was Kuchiki Rukia who would be the first one to die by her hands, but she was no where at all. If it hadn't been for her, the normal life in Karakura would exist, and none of the troubles with Hollows and such wouldn't exist at all. That interference by the lowly shinigami, they destroyed her dream to become Kurosaki-kun's wife, to be able to have a happy home with him.

None of those fantasies could exist if they were around, it was their fault for creating this mess for them, and for shattering all of the dreams that had been created so long ago. Orihime wanted for life to go back to what it was, to have returned to school like nothing had happen, to continue seeing Tatsuki and Ishida, and mainly Kurosaki-kun, who would greet her even with only a little emotion behind it.

"Tensa Zangetsu!" Ichigo yelled from far away, ending the life of her prominent Espada.

Her gaze averted to the other Espada, it seemed that Renji and Rangiku-chan easily dealt with her so quickly like that without much; even after months of going over and over on their moves. Perhaps she had over thought over it, too much planning had been done and they had underestimated them. That was a mistake.

"Hyorinmaru!" Toushiro-kun yelled, cutting her son up and making him fall onto the roof of a building. Blood, so much blood.

"STOP!" She suddenly yelled, the unnoticeable tears had formed. Inoue couldn't stand to see it anymore, couldn't bear the pain of the image of her son nearly on his death. Why had it turned out this way?

Destiny had a funny way of destroying the paths easily, to crumble one's self without remorse or regret at all, just simply to imply the lesson that one needed to learn. Falling, falling deep into that abyss that one did not want to fall into--that was the destiny that was awaiting her.

+---+

Ichigo panted, the parasite inside of his body seemed to have stopped after he had finally managed to kill Croix. Though, blood and wounds were plastered in his body as he fell back onto the rooftop, unable to do anything else because it was a long night already.

How come everything had lead to this? Even if it was merely a low fight, so many questions were slowly coming to him. The only one thing he wanted to know was, why was Inoue willing to sacrifice so much just for this? Underestimating them had been the flaw of whatever the plan was, giving out all of the moves that they had only put an effort for him to change them, but the questioned remained. Why?

Her screamed echoed in the night, the rain continuing to fall on top of him, soaking his shinigami robes and washing away the blood from his face. His amber eyes gazing at the bright moon that hung over Karakura, how different it looked from the last time he had seen it. Missing home never came to him on the daily basis, truly there was no time to think when you were a captain who had a large amount of paperwork to complete.

Sitting in a room, going over reports and writing some regarding the division didn't make it fun--somehow though Ichigo could not complain about that life at all. Regardless of whatever boring life that was, there was a home that would welcome him without care of the past mistakes. The smile on his wife's face, the faces of his children--all of that was the new world that he took part in.

What about the others though? Understanding and reasoning were two different things, perhaps something that Inoue lacked from the beginning.

"Kurosaki…" His brother-in-law stumbled forward, he too was wounded.

"You got beat up pretty badly, Toushiro." The orange haired captain smirked, looking at him for a brief second. The expression seemed empty, but a void laid behind those bright teal eyes. "Old wounds?"

Hitsugaya let it slide the fact that his brother-in-law still did not address him properly, mainly because he didn't have much strength left to argue or fight at all. He laid there too, staring at the black sky while the rain soaked him completely, but he enjoyed the feeling.

"They never ease, only eating your subconscious away like its nothing." He said, holding onto his sword still. "It is strange how others think its easy, to express a loathing that exists there only because someone else manages to implant it inside, so deep. That darkness, so bewitching and haunting, it swallows the heart so deep."

"Ah, it keeps swallowing, deeper and deeper." Ichigo agreed. His form was returning back to normal, the adrenaline slowly easing. "Frankly, it is something I rather not think about at all--simply moving away from it and put it in the past. The present, it brings things that none of us want to see, but it is the future that is inevitable to avoid at all."

There were so many reasons, so many options, so many things that everyone had to decide upon in order to obtain a result in life. Whether it was awry or not, there always existed an option that could either bend or break, shatter a life into pieces that would never be able to put back together at all. Everyone knew that, or should as far as Ichigo was concern, because he had made so many choices that caused either good or bad.

A gate opened in mid-air, various shinigamis stepping forward lead by Soi Fon-taichou, and others from 4th division lead by Hanatarou. Following behind was Tatsuki, it was unusual for her to suddenly appear like that, but then again Ichigo had heard that they wanted to make her the fukutaichou for that squad, after the other one had disappeared long ago suddenly.

"Inoue Orihime, you are under arrest." She spoke clearly, no wavering feelings behind her tone at all. "I'll deal with the rest Soi Fon-taichou." The captain nodded, motioning for her subordinates to put a kido spell around the orange haired woman.

Ichigo saw the lieutenant's badge on her arm, the number 2 proudly carved into the material--obviously no one wasted time to make new arrangements to the Gotei 13. He could not help but admire, his friend who was amazingly strong and had learned to be a shinigami in such short time; it was truly amazing.

She stood there, it seemed that something was being said, but Ichigo was far too tired to actually care at the moment to listen closely. The rain poured, lightning flashing from across the sky--the blinding bluish light shinning against the dark sky. A long day tomorrow would await, but it was good to know that he would live to see tomorrow.

+---+

Tatsuki could no longer care for her former friend, the horrified expression on her face came naturally of course, but it didn't matter. Long ago, after hearing a lot of things, she realized that the Inoue Orihime she had known long ago had died ten years ago, and would never come back at all. Life moved on, she had died and was able to join the friends that were very much present in the moment, but she was no longer part of that group at all.

Her gaze moved towards her husband, the wounds on his body showed that he was never afraid to fight, even if it meant to hurt his friends. That was the risk on becoming part of that shinigami group, and there was no returning at all.

"Tatsuki." Orihime looked at her, her brown eyes holding those tears in her eyes.

"Inoue Orihime, you are under arrest." She said it so clearly, it hurt Orihime deep inside.

Never in a million years had she imagined that her friend would become one of them, learning about her death had been sad news, and Tatsuki was now like Kurosaki-kun. The only two that remained alive were Ishida and Sado, but neither would ever join with her at all.

Tatsuki couldn't really think much about it, mainly because she had caused inflicting pain on her friends, and most importantly to her husband. Renji looked beaten up from the distance, Ichigo had been hurt as well, along with Hitsugaya-taichou. They didn't need to be in more pain anymore, so it was better if she had allowed her friendly feelings towards the woman in front of her vanished.

Wavering on ancient feelings wouldn't do anymore, feeling sorry for the once weak friend could never be at all, due to the fact that she had turned bad. It had hurt a bit, knowing that the person she had protected while being alive suddenly turned against them, easily deciding on joining the dream of creating a utopian society of the sort. To rule over beings that back then were still unreal, now all of it changed since she was part of that group now, whether she had been alive or dead, none of it mattered at all.

"Tatsuki, why?" The orange haired woman called out for her, her voice held pain.

"There are no reasons for me to explain myself, to the enemy." She expressed, standing there with her back facing her former friend. "And, its Arisawa-fukutaichou."

Orihime's brown eyes glanced at the badge on her friend's shoulder, surely the number two was there--under the lightning it looked frightening obviously. Had so much time really gone by? Impossible, it was truly impossible for her to become such high ranking in a matter of a few years.

"Tatsuki…" Tears formed in her eyes again, she wished for things to go back to the way they had been so long ago, but nothing would ever be the same again.

+---+

Hinamori's breath was elaborated, harsh as the cold air was coming into her lungs--the two Kurosaki twins were obviously far too strong then she had anticipated in the past. Why? Why had they become so strong over a short amount of time, even if there were some imperfections to their moves, it was obvious that they would become stronger in the future.

Her zanpaktou was slowly losing power on its own, as she was growing weak from the lack of air that was coming to her lung; courtesy of Kurosaki Yuzu. Her zanpaktou was really scary, mainly because those spores attacked the lungs--so scary.

"Yozora no Kiri!" Karin yelled, appearing out of no where and throwing more of those small pieces, cutting her more and more.

"Yoru no Hana!" The spores were coming again, only using kido spells were the only way to prevent those things to continue attacking her lungs.

"Tobiume!" She let out another explosive attack, but it was becoming easy to avoid at all costs.

Karin couldn't determine if this would end good or not, but slowly she was gaining momentum as the bits of her sword were becoming sharper and stronger. The final attack would obviously come soon, but it couldn't be done at the moment. She had to wait, patiently gaining more power to those pieces of metal before giving out the final attack. There were only two stages to her shinkai form, one that was the one she was using at the moment, and the final that would declare the end to this.

'Are you willing to use my final attack?' Yozora no Kiri asked.

'If I have no choice, yes.' Karin replied, throwing more pieces towards the brown headed shinigami and causing another incision.

Why was the feeling of hate towards her so strong for? That loathing was clouding her thinking though, which was becoming irritating to the least amount. Her sister, it was strange how she was willing to join in on the fight as well, but why? So many reasons, but not enough time to think about none of them as she had her hand full. Another one of those fireballs hit her, the burning was nothing compare to the slash she had gotten on her leg. Immobilizing your enemy, that was a good strategy she had to admit, but not good enough.

Hinamori attacked both shinigamis, putting Yuzu on a paralyzing state as she fell onto the ground from the kick she was about to give her. Karin remained standing still, looking at her sister on the ground looking so dead, it almost hurt. Those two needed to be rid off, completely be erased from this world in order to obtain what she wanted, and to make Toushiro forget her.

"Hadou 99, Kurohitsugi." The black coffin appeared around Yuzu, soon she would be finished for sure due to her immobile state.

Karin watched, shocked to know that she was actually able to pull that one suddenly like that--the admiration towards that fucking bastard Aizen didn't end at all. He was the one who was said to have done that to Komamura-taichou, and it was said to had been something out of this world. At the moment, she failed to notice what was so great about that, but she could not let her sister be hurt anymore.

"Fade into the night…Yozora no Kiri." The reiatsu grew in size, becoming nearly suffocating to the weaker shinigami that was about to kill her sister.

All of the metal pieces that were swirling freely in the air, stopped around Hinamori, looking like she was encased on a cage. The frightening look upon the woman's face was vivid, the look of horror almost haunting as Karin waved her hand to direct the pieces of metal to point at the target, and enclose.

There was a scream, loud and agonizing it made Karin's skin crawl in fear of her own attack, that was why she did not want to show her son what she was capable off. Hinamori had been stabbed by the numerous pieces of metal, slashing her flesh and causing her to instantly fall onto the ground. A pool of blood began to appear around her suddenly, the dark sky was replaced with the full night sky of Soul Society; making the blood gleam under the bright moonlight.

Karin couldn't think, couldn't possibly know that she had perhaps killed her, even though it had not being her intention at all. She, too, fell to the ground on her knees as her katana had returned to its sealed form. Hinamori's chest seemed to be barely rising, obviously with lungs that had been attacked by her sister's zanpaktou would make it impossible for her to continue any longer.

"Karin!" Her dark eyes turn to the source of the voice, it was turning hazy as she saw the figure of a white haired man rushing to her side.

A smile appeared on her face suddenly, the familiar warming reiatsu wrapping itself around her like a blanket. "Toushiro…" Her eyes closed suddenly, the last attack had drained her energy entirely.

+---+

One month later…

The New Year dawned upon all shinigamis, without the celebrations at all since there was a trial still being put upon them; to test them of course. Hitsugaya seemed to be getting annoyed by having to actually participate on the trial as a witness, it wouldn't make no difference for those who would be punished by Central 46. There was so much paperwork to do, no time to fool around like a teenage boy at all, and only having to finish the details of certain paper for the trial.

Even after a month, some people still found it impossible to think that a human had become capable of plotting against Soul Society so easily. To create a calamity, to raise so many questions upon certain members of the Gotei 13--it seemed like a trick still. Nothing actually made sense, but then again, nothing in either way would ever make sense.

Soon though, Inoue Orihime would be sent thru the gates to Hell for everything she had done and for never asking for forgiveness at all. Aizen Makoto was to be sentenced to execution, it seemed that using the traitor's zanpaktou became the main issue of his punishment, but in the end it resulted on his death. Hueco Mundo was once again invaded, records and battle plans had been extracted from it that had been useful as proof against Inoue and her son. The part that confused him though, was how in the hell had Hinamori being in contact with her? No one could explain it at all, but that also resulted on harsher punishment then anything before.

The white haired captain swallowed the lump on his throat, the thought of her being punished still was far too bizarre for him to comprehend at all.

"Oi, Toushiro!" Karin snapped her fingers in front of his face. "You know, for a guy like you who's supposed to concentrate a lot, you actually go off in space. So childish." Her dark eyes shinned with sunlight coming from the window, they were soft though.

"I'm not childish, you know that." He grumbled at her, an invisible tick mark appearing on his face. His teal eyes narrowed at his wife, she was childish herself. "What do you want? Aren't you supposed to be helping Kuchiki-taichou, now that you're his 3rd seat?"

During the past month, Karin had gotten that promotion for no reason, it wasn't like she had willingly worked in order to gain a higher spot at all--actually it was the same as the previous one--with the exception of the squad. Working with Kuchiki Byakuya was like staring at a rock, sometimes it looked as though he didn't blink.

"Nah, I kind of ran out on them." The dark haired shinigami sat on the desk Indian-style, scratching her new short hair. "Kuchiki-taichou sort off…kicked me out for dropping the ink tray when I tripped. Anyways, I'll probably be transferred back seeing that I can't stand him. He's a rock, sometimes I wonder about him."

"What do you want then? Hiding here won't help, Matsumoto has tried that in the past years." The white haired captain expressed, scratching his head and leaning back against his chair. "Speaking off which, have you seen her today?"

"Ah, not really. She was supposed to be helping Ichi-nii with something regarding a few lower seats, a big mess." Karin dismissed it with a wave of her hand, literally not wanting to talk about the fact that she had actually gone off with her twin sister to the real world. "So, can I stay here?"

Hitsugaya shrugged, standing up while taking the folder containing the paperwork he had done for the day--he needed a vacation at the moment. Even if only a month had gone by, it felt like decades that passed by them entirely without much care at all, so it felt strange. Though, he looked at his wife on a different light due to him seeing her shinkai form when she had been fighting Hinamori--truly a sight.

Karin frowned, being ignored simply like that wasn't going to go well in the end--so she jumped off the table and raced after him. Nearly knocking her husband to ground, the papers fluttered as they were falling onto the woodened floor; her eyes were looking down at his.

"Karin, what the--" He was caught off by her lips. All of the sudden anger disappeared, replaced by the placid feeling that she was giving to him.

The enchanting smell of her caught him off guard, his logical and rational thinking ebbed away as his hands reached for the back of her head while grasping her firmly on with his big hand. So love made him blind, unable to think at all because once she had managed to put herself on his brain, it was nearly impossible to fight the feeling.

Karin smiled inside of her, surely he could never get angry at her for suddenly knocking him to the ground--plus they were married. Wanting to feel so near that warm made her crazy, driving her to the point of nearly wanting to cut down the door to the office and jumping on him, but it seemed Toushiro was simply responding on his own. Slowly, she felt the heat coming inside of her body as he continue to kiss her passionately, it was eating her away.

"Hn, Toushiro." She whispered softly, opening her eyes to look at him.

"What?" He responded, attempting to sit up and pulling her with him.

The dark haired shinigami sat there in silence, allowing her mind to slowly ease away those feelings that were running so deep inside, and her heart from beating so fast. Somehow, she had wanted to apologize for doing something so horrid towards his former friend, even though there really wasn't much to say about it.

"I'll like to apologize." She expressed, looking down unable to really keep eye contact with him at all.

"What for?" He asked, confused as to know why she was apologizing suddenly.

It was hard to truly express that out loud, to simply say that she was sorry for going all out against his former friend, even though she had all the right to do so. The dark haired woman sighed, looking up at the white haired man.

"I'm sorry for nearly killing her, and for causing everything." That was honest, but she failed to actually notice it. "She was your friend, you tried to protect her long ago. And, I had no right to go all out on her the way I did. I'm--"

"Don't, don't apologize for something I would do as well." He expressed, giving her a sincere look. "Hinamori was my friend in the past, but I can't allow that to affect my judgement for all of the things she tried to do. Attacking your sister and our son, I knew that you wouldn't have liked that."

Everyone faced difficult options, Hitsugaya could easily pick his wife and child out of his old friendship, mainly because it was part of the process of moving away from that pain. He pulled her into a hug, holding her close due to the fact that he would never bring himself to let her go at all--even if it cost him his life. She brought her lips to his again, wanting to drown on that fuzzy feeling that continued to cloud her mind entirely.

+---+

* * *

_Chapter 14! Great, great...well fighting scenes obviously are the worst to write, so I tried my best. I should give myself some yogurt for that, and a pat in the head. Wow, so silly. Thanks to happygirl24 and WatermelonPrincess for reviewing, you guys are amazing so this chapter goes to the both of you. Well, I'm not sure if the events turned out like I wanted them. Shocking that I made Tatsuki a vice-captain, actually 'cos I can't stand that oaf Oameda or whatever his bloody name is. And, I thought that Tatsuki would fit the role in 2nd Division. Ichigo and Toushiro won, so that was obvious. A fast track on the fighting scenes, but oh well. Yuzu's zanpaktou in reality is deadly just like Karin's, guess no one can mess with them at all...specially Hinamori. I didn't kill her, though her fate is to be decided by Central 46 so that's going to be a big event next chapter in a slight sense. Ah, damn I didn't put any Tatsuki/Renji or IchiRuki scenes--I promise I will next chapter. _

_+happygirl24- 'Momo isn't dead, sorry! I have to think of something really harsh for her though, so you'll have to wait. And Karin and Yuzu always kick arse! I hope you liked how I did their zanpaktous--I had a very hard time coming up on how they would look like really. Thanks for the review as well!'_

_+WatermelonPrincess- 'Thank you, I have to think outside the box. No, I'm not actually advertising Taco Bell! Okay, anyways...yeah I don't like fighting scenes, they are very hard. Thank you for the compliment too! Don't worry, adult life might seem scary to be more precise, but if you think about it too much then it does get difficult. Its scary sure, but there's people in your world that are able to help with that, so don't be scared. I babble a lot too, trust me. Some have said that I should ge a muzzle for my mouth, but its only 'cos they don't like the stuff I spout to them about, mainly 'cos I say the truth about things they don't want to hear--if that makes sense. I hope I don't have to move soon, I don't know how in the hell I'll survive without internet! I need my Bleach updates and episodes! Sighs, I'll make it somehow! Thanks again for the review!!! Hope that you liked it.'_

_Well, I have a little stuff planned out for next chapter. I might, just might write a little bit of smut--not full 'cos I can't write explicit stuff. I'm horrid, and it would be my first time to add slight--I guess it would be called 'fluff' but whatever! Anyways, so that's just a little bit of what will happen next. Hinamori's fate is to be decided, that will be hard to think of a punishment for her. Orihime got a harsh punishment, eh. Makoto, will die! Um, Karin moved to 6th division--wouldn't working with Byakuya be hard? I wouldn't mind though--except I prefer Hisagi! I think he's smexy, well both of them are. Okay, that's all I have to say really. Review!  
_


	15. Sorrowful Apologies

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. There could be some kind of world domination with that, but Kubo-sensei would always own it unlike the rest of us.

This is dedicated to **WatermelonPrincess** for the dedication she made to me, so thank you so much.

* * *

**The Bridge Of Silence**

+---+

+Sorrowful Apologies+

_Today marked one of the most happiest days that Ichigo could had in so long, not only had he gotten married a couple of months ago to the best girl in the world, but he was now a father to a small boy. He stared at his son, he was asleep soundly on his mother's arms, it was obvious that the small baby was his. The patch of bright orange hair was visible enough, the ever present scowl he had gotten from him too--it was quite comical that his child was just like him. _

_Rukia looked tired, a delivery that lasted almost 14 hours never did well at all; mainly because she was extremely petite and a bit weak from the amounts of reiatsu the baby had taken away from her. Her violet eyes were gazing down at the baby in her arms, she could not help but smile at the fact that he was like his father, and she wouldn't change him for the world. _

"_He's a replica of you." Her voice was low. _

"_I still find it mind blowing, but it's a good feeling." He expressed, sitting besides her on the chair. Running a hand on his tiny head, feeling the soft baby skin that was warm under his touch--he was the new Kurosaki member. "What are we going to name him?" _

_The raven haired girl sighed, looking into his amber eyes and smiling still--the happy feeling was actually contagious--what would be a good name for him though? Surely, their child would become strong in the future due to his father, who was immensely strong and an honest man. _

"_Kazuki." He suddenly said, slowly taking him from her arms. Being a father had changed him, he no longer acted like a teen stuck in the angst stage in life at all, but that was also due to the fact that Kuchiki Rukia had invaded his life only a while back. _

_Rukia was amazing though, the only girl that could easily kick Ichigo into shape, picking him up from his miserable state of mind. He was grateful to have her in his life, she was like the ray of light upon his dark world, and now she would become part of his life forever. He couldn't still bring himself to actually say that she was his wife, so strange and new for him. _

"_I like that name, Ichigo." She smiled tiredly at him, her bright eyes shinning. "You'll be a good father to him." _

"_I will try my best to become stronger for him, to always protect the both of you." Ichigo smirked that 'special' smirk only reserved for her. He brought his left hand to grasp hers, the silver band shinning under the faint light of the room._

+---+

Sunny, a sunny warm day awaited for the end of the trial regarding the punishment for Hinamori Momo and today was the sentencing day for her. From what Hitsugaya had heard, the punishment was to be made by the end of the day or before, depending on how Central 46 would agree upon. At the moment, he couldn't bring himself to waste time to think about such things seeing that he had a stack amount of paperwork, courtesy of Matsumoto's lack of work in the office for today.

An invisible tick mark appeared on his head, but the giggle from his son seemed to have stopped from the anger to rise completely. Tatsuya was playing with a set of paint brushes and some paper, a gift from his sensei, Ukitake-taichou, along with some candy.

"Burshes!" He smiled at him, there was a single tooth on his mouth at the moment. Obviously, babies seemed to mature fast in Soul Society.

"Its 'brushes', Tatsuya." The father stood up, walking over towards the baby and picking him up from the ground. "Say…brushes."

"Brushes." The baby repeated, putting one of his hands on his father's face. "Otousan…Kaasan…Ichi…Ka-chan…Ama-chan…Yu…Shuu…Ukita-san…"

Obviously, he was capable of naming almost all of the faces that the baby would see everyday, and it was good that he was perceptive. Hitsugaya bounced him on his knee after he took a seat, perhaps the paperwork could be dealt with some other time. Wait, had he become so relax now that he was a father? He bother not to think about it, mainly because he was now away from his desk.

"Hitsugaya-taichou, Hitsugaya-taichou…" There was a knock on his office door.

"Yes?" Who would be looking for him so early in the day.

Kurosaki Kazuki entered the room, it was rare for a shinigami in the academy to do work for them, but then again his father was a captain as well. There was a scroll on his hand, the signature of 13th division was very much visible.

"I ran into Ukitake-taichou, and he said to deliver it for him." The orange haired boy stumbled forward. "Tatsuya, its rare for you to be out in the morning. May I?" Usually, Kazuki wasn't the type to act so formal towards his uncle, but he was working so he needed to respect him.

"Mind if you take him out?" Hitsugaya asked, standing up as the boy carried his son.

"Nope, I'll bring him back in a while. I'll baby-sit since I have only service work to do." Kazuki asked, hopeful. His uncle nodded, dismissing him so he could read the message without interruptions. "Wonder what this is about?" He opened the scroll, and began to read it.

+---+

"Choo…" Takehiko was biting his bear. Renji only smiled at his son, finding it hard to understand what was so great about biting the poor plush--would've been funny if it had been that lion plush, Kon.

"I don't understand what's the big deal about biting those things." The red headed male said it out loud, finding it impossible to actually get it.

"That's because they like it, idiot." Tatsuki replied, while standing besides the door of the 6th squad office. "And, because since babies here mature fast--perhaps in a few months he will start growing his teeth."

The red headed male finally understood, though he made a note to read chapter 8 on the book Parenting Tips that he had picked up a while back during a trip to the real world; although it was more of a joke from Ikkaku. So, even though he was an amateur father, if such possibility existed, none of it actually changed at all since his son was the best thing in the world.

Somehow, that alone was still so brand new along with the fact that he was a married man, but some of his closets friends were also married. There wasn't a proper root to finding the answer as to why parenting made one happy, since happiness had a different form to manifest itself amongst everyone, so it was hard to understand. Happiness was a suffocating feeling that he couldn't fully comprehend, to try to grasp its full intention in life at all, but Renji did not care so much about it.

Only the present seemed important, seeing the smile on his son's face and along with his wife's face too, even though she would find an excuse to kick his ass. There was no hope when it came to falling in love at all, so he wanted for things to remain the way they were.

"Oi, you're salivating there." Tatsuki slapped his face, trying to make him snap out of that.

"Thanks, but a slap wasn't necessary." Renji grumbled, rubbing his cheek. "I have our child here, so careful where you hit me with that man's hand."

Tatsuki narrowed her eyes at him, obviously when they would go to sleep he would pay for that. Except, she could not help but smile at the sight of father and son, it was still new for her to actually understand that she had married an amazing man, and now was a mother to a beautiful child. Takehiko was a big part of her world now, even after all of the things that had happen, none of them could bring sadness in her life.

Sometimes though, she would wonder as to why her former best friend had done something so horrid as that, nearly killing her comrades and friends because of selfish reasons. Selfishness was seriously a bad emotion to have, mainly because of what Inoue had done and had wanted to do.

"Renji." She said, after a brief silence had fallen in the room.

"Uh, what is it?" He asked, noticing that forlorn expression on her face. It was slightly rare to see her that way, usually she was thinking about who she was going to kick for the day.

"Tomorrow Inoue is going to be sent to Hell." There was a certain insecurity knowing that her former friend would be sent to a horrid place like that, but actions couldn't be changed. "Do you think that was a proper sentence?"

The red headed shinigami looked at her, worried that she might actually be having those same friendly feelings towards her former friend--except that it could be understandable. He, too had worried about such feelings when Rukia had been sentence to die--mostly because those types of punishments seemed far too harsh to actually give out, but there was nothing to be done.

Saving someone from such penance would be impossible, actions had their consequences and Inoue's actions had been a terrorizing thing. If she hadn't done something so rash like that, perhaps punishment could have come in a lesser price--it was too late to change the decision though.

"You know it as well as I do, her actions have consequences." He replied, looking at his son while still trying to understand it well. "Even if there was a chance to give her a lesser punishment, the sentence would still be as harsh as that--perhaps being sentenced to die or something worse."

"Oh. I see." She went silent suddenly, but why was she so worried? Threatening lives, wanting to destroy a small town, wanting to rule over Soul Society--those weren't the types of dreams that the old Inoue would have at all. "I guess…that it can't be helped. I trusted her, therefore my loathing towards her increased suddenly after I saw her that night. Those brown eyes no longer held sincerity to them, obliviousness or anything of the sort. In fact, they held malice and hate that made me want to slap her then."

"I guess it can't be helped then, but I believe that it is the lesser penance that she could get for committing such crimes." As much as he tried not to sound cold, Renji could not think of something better to say. "And, even an apology can't fix this seeing that a lot of people were affected by that. Even I can't feel sorry for my former friend, she committed a huge mistake--so only accepting the punishment could perhaps help."

Perhaps he was right, but Tatsuki could not help but think that all of it was still a mistake. Whatever fate was decided for her, there was no way of stopping it.

+---+

Trying to find the most ridiculous foods in the entire Soul Society actually took time, at least for Ichigo it seemed that the world would end one day or something. Rukia had asked for things that weren't even sold in Japan, so going over to other countries was the only answer to solving that problem--another reason why he couldn't stand actually getting his wife pregnant. Though, the orange haired male did not regret it whatsoever, even if it meant travelling to France for their very famous dish; that thought sicken him at the moment.

"Are you alright, Kurosaki-taichou?" Hisagi asked, looking at the disgusted look upon the man's face.

"Not really, its nothing." He dismissed it, obviously talking about it would make him get sick to his stomach.

Why, why did pregnancy make a woman eat the most ghastly looking food that they could get their hands into. The thought of eating pickles with banana pudding really sounded disgusting, mixing miso soup with bananas…it was going beyond a nightmare.

"Ichigo, welcome home." Rukia smiled as he entered their house, removing his sword to put it aside.

"Welcome home, Otousan!" His children chorused inside the room, each holding their own bowl.

"What's for dinner?" He asked, taking his seat on the table. Though, it was a bad question from the start, as Rukia poured something on his bowl that smelled foul.

"I thought of having bean soup and wasabi, and ginger sauce." The petite shinigami smiled contently, happily--it was actually sickening to look at that happy smile.

For a second, Ichigo thought that it would be end of life for sure with food like that--so he carefully took a spoonful and attempted on putting it on his mouth. At least, Rukia managed to walk back onto the kitchen giving him a chance to drop the foul soup onto a plant nearby.

"Kaasan has been making awful food lately, Unohana-taichou had to check me." The orange haired boy expressed, giving his father a look.

"Hai, I sneak to Matsumoto-neesan's house just to eat before I get here." The orange haired girl expressed, taking a mouthful of her banana pudding. "I only eat the delicious treats Kaasan makes, but food--horrid."

Later at night, he sat on the bed thinking about a way of letting Rukia know that she needed to let the cooks take over the food--obviously he would have to go with the excuse of telling her that 'cooking is tiring, so you shouldn't restrain yourself too much', but that would probably go no where. After all, his wife was very stubborn and a strong believer on whatever she sat her mind into, and at the moment he wished she would just simply not do anything.

He saw the faint light coming from the large bathroom, Rukia stood on the door way on her sleeping robes and looking like she was slightly lost. Always, before going to bed, she had the notion of touching her stomach. The feeling of knowing that a life was taking place inside was still strange to think about, knowing that a life was going to come into this world just like she had as well. Somehow, the feeling was far too complex though, imagining herself being on her mother's belly seemed strange, but it was warming to the heart.

"I'm so tired." Rukia expressed once she laid in bed, pulling the covers up around her small body.

"You don't say, having my child inside there obviously causes that." Ichigo commented, putting away the book on his hands. "Actually, I've been thinking." His tone grabbed a rather sugar coated tone, which was rare for him to use unless he was in a serious situation.

"Oh, what about?" The petite shinigami was oblivious, somehow happiness wouldn't leave her at all for today.

The orange haired man tried hard to put it nicely, without making it sound prudish and stupid. "I think that you should stop cooking, it would make you more tired."

The raven haired shinigami thought about it for a second, surely working hard on getting paperwork made her tired, watching over shinigami students was also tiring--perhaps she did need a break from all of it because it wouldn't help the situation she was in at the moment.

"I should, we should go to Nii-sama's house to eat then." She smiled stupidly at him, while getting closer to him and wrapping her arms around his waist. "I love you Ichigo."

Well that was easier said then done, so he smiled to himself and at the comment. "I love you too Rukia, now lets get some rest." He turned off the lamp and cuddled with his wife, but then he stopped. "Wait, we're going to our brother's house?"

Though, Rukia only mumbled back at him. Great, spending the entire dinner with the rock-like brother-in-law would be…fun. He could not help but think how his children will drive him crazy, well mainly due to how rudely they were and how they often broke something due to their dislike of nobility. And, they were Kurosaki's after all--so nothing to be done about that case at all.

+---+

Yuzu stood in the cell in which Hinamori was being held at, most of her injuries had not fully healed due to the fact that her reiatsu was sealed. Hisagi stood besides her, his expression nonexistent due to the fact that bitter feelings were only hidden behind that expression. Neither of them could actually say anything, after all, there were still harsh feelings towards each other that couldn't easily be brushed off to the side.

"What do the two of you want?" Hinamori asked, glancing up at the couple standing there. "Coming here to feel sorry for me? I don't need your pity at all, don't you understand anything at all?"

"I wished I could understand, but there's no reasons that you can give us so that we are able to understand." Yuzu responded, tugging at the sleeve of her robes.

They stood there in silence, the prisoner thinking of a way to actually express the reasons why she had attacked them suddenly. Generally, could it be possibly to explain such thing in the beginning? Though, the first time she had seen her former friend's face had hurt--the pain from the battle wounds did no compare to the pain that came from seeing his angry face. Those stabbing words, pulling in and out of her, piercing her so deeply inside that it hurt so much.

Tears appeared on her brown eyes, why had that hidden pain surface so quickly in a matter of seconds like that? So many years had gone by, the many rejections and loathing from others sunk in suddenly--now she was seeing her own mistake.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Hinamori was now on her hands and knees, bowing to the point in which she didn't know where that pain would disappear to or what would happen to her. "I am truly sorry for hurting everyone, for raising my sword towards you and your sister, and to those who helped me in the past. Even though, an apology won't be any good at all--but my heart can not take it anymore."

Perhaps it was hard to forget, to completely erase all of the feelings and actions that had lead everyone to the situation they were in currently, but it wasn't easy to erase the pain at all.

The sentencing was given at exactly 2 in the afternoon, Hinamori's zanpaktou was to be destroyed and she was to spent her time roaming the streets of her old Rukongai home without anyone to help her at all. Banishment from Seireitei seemed far worse compare to being sent to Hell like Inoue Orihime had gotten.

Both, Hitsugaya and Karin stood there witnessing all of it take place inside of the meeting hall. Seeing Hinamori actually crying had not moved them, Hitsugaya knew that she had been at fault for doing such lowly act like that, so he decided to do nothing on her favour. Karin did not want to get involved in anything, helping her was out of the question as the wound was still fresh and unforgivable and it was most likely to stay that way for a very long time.

No one was fully well apprehensible with such sentencing, but no one was actually willing to stand up and fight for her rights at all.

+---+

The night had fallen upon Soul Society, the bright blue moon shinning radiantly against the dark ocean that was the sky along with few bright stars. The cold had not left yet, small flurries fell from the few clouds that were hanging over the abyss--the wind was cold. Hitsugaya stared at the moon from his office, his cup of tea on his hands as it was already cold though--his thoughts were still relentless.

Paperwork stood neatly on the side of the woodened desk, none of them had been signed or checked over, an empty piece of paper laid there as well while the dried brush was on top of it. It was late already, yet he found it hard to actually leave the office when he couldn't stop about those silly thoughts at all--though he did not care at all about his former friend.

It would be nearly impossible to actually forgive her for wanting to kill his son, for fighting with his sister-in-law, and his wife. None of that could be forgotten no matter how much she would apologize about it, a difference could not be made at all.

"What's with the gloomy mood?" Karin stepped inside of his office, and interrupted him.

"No reason." He replied nonchalantly, getting away from the window sill. "Its nothing that you should be worried about, really."

The dark haired shinigami nodded, though he was being slightly dismissive about many things lately it was getting on her last nerves. Except, that in some weird and strange universe, she could understand his feelings in a slight way. She sighed, giving up on actually trying to get anything out of her husband when he wasn't being very cooperative at all.

"So, are you not going to leave? Tatsuya fell asleep waiting for you to come home." Karin tried another tactic.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have being sucked into my thoughts." He sounded so formal it made her angry, but why was he acting like that for?

"Hitsugaya, what's going on?" She was frustrated beyond reasoning, and she was sick of it. The mopping did not fit him at all, acting so--so strange like that.

The white haired shinigami sighed, looking at his wife and trying to forgot most of his thoughts with her presence there. Karin was there, that was rather obvious and stupid to realize seeing that he was married to her--a long life dream. Her lovely face held a frown, not a good sign at all--but he was happy knowing that she was there and that was it. No need to think more, no need to thoroughly question anything anymore, he needed her.

"I'm sorry, frustration was never a feeling I easily dealt with." He embraced her, feeling her warmth next to him to subdue everything around the two.

"You make worry me a lot, you'll end up killing me." She smiled, looking up at his bright eyes that were always enchanting. Why was it hard to believe that he had fallen for her?

Hitsugaya grabbed the back of her head and pulled her for a kiss, allowing those dead feelings to be awoken by Karin's electrifying touch and her sweet scent. Those butterflies awoken, fluttering while making him feel like a silly human boy knowing that the girl he was in love with be around him. The worries being pulled under the waves of happiness, the cloudy thoughts that rushed like tidal waves, and that fuzzy pulsating feeling in the heart.

Why had she become the sole reason of existence for? Karin moaned as he felt his scorching lips on her jaw line, Toushiro was always the one to drive her insane with how great he was at that. The soft caressing of his calloused hands on her face, his manly smell surrounding her in a cloud of a silly school girl crush--it was silly. Love, love--the former word that refuse to become part of the dictionary had gained its own definition on her world.

In the silence, enough feelings were exchanged between the two without having to display them in public like most people often did. Their relationship could be compare to that of Ichigo and Rukia, they didn't express their feelings in the open either and were often seeing arguing about trivial matters--but in reality there was so much love. Love existed in different shapes, everyone knew that, but why would everyone compare to a simple fantasy for.

Love between Renji and Tatsuki was express on verbal abuse, the usual screaming that they did or their fights while they trained together. Even though it was unusual, everyone was aware of how happy they actually were around each other, and more now that they had a child. While Yuzu and Hisagi, their love was kept behind closed doors unlike anyone else. They addressed each other properly, neither of them looking like they were in love in front of others, but behind closed doors it was something else.

That deep care that existed was pure, almost innocent for the former playboy of Soul Society, but it was a good change. For the Kurosaki princess, it was a behaviour that was accepted even though she oftentimes thought about wanting to jump on her fiancée and kiss him in front of everyone, but it was not proper for someone like her to act. The different forms that existed were strange, almost funny at some point though and rather intriguing as well.

Karin did not care, showing or not showing affection did not bother her since it was no one's business to interfere into her world at all. Opinions were not well taken by her, they were actually ignored or they were replied with abusive words or insults--actually no one dared to say anything in front of her face. And, it also went the same for Toushiro--his affection for his wife was kept in silence from everyone.

"I love you." He whispered in her ear, kissing her pulse that was rapid at the moment.

"I…love you too." She couldn't think, that electric current making all attempts of pulling away impossible.

He untied the sash on her waist, wanting to feel her warm skin underneath his hands to drive her insane as she often stated, the feeling so strong. She took his haori off, tossing it aside and untying his robes to run her hands over those muscles that hid underneath all of the clothing he wore everyday.

As he pulled down her robes, she felt the sudden rush of the cold sending chills down her back, and making her get closer to him. Toushiro smirked, running his hands on her shoulders and her back--making her shudder underneath his touch. So much tension grew between them all the time, their feelings scattering in a room like fireflies in the night.

"Toushiro…" Karin arched her back, allowing the feeling in her stomach to become tighter and tighter. Feeling him deep within her, letting him drive her to the edge of pleasure.

Lusting was never missing on their heated nights at all, it was like the very cliché type of thing. The room was dark now, only the moonlight creating the only light in the room turning everything almost silver, and shadows stand randomly against the background.

The white haired shinigami continued to thrust deeper, letting his previous thoughts to ebb away from his mind as he tried to focus on the pleasure. He kissed the girl underneath him, putting his hand on one of her breast and fondling with it causing her to moan against his lips. The dark haired girl met with the thrusts, it was wild unlike any other nights or their few escapades in the past. He winced as he felt her nails dig on his flesh, she was gripping so tightly against him.

"Karin." He grunted. Sweat was forming on his forehead and he kissed her again.

She screamed out on release while he simply grunted out her name, their bodies were sweaty and both were taking their time to allow their erratic breathing to calm back down. Toushiro dropped to Karin's side, pulling her with him and throwing the cover from the couch around them before the warmth would vanish.

"How in the hell are we going to explain this?" Karin asked after a few minutes, running her hand on his chest.

"That's something I rather not think about." Toushiro replied, tracing circles on her shoulder with his thumb. His eyes focused on the ceiling.

"I think this is the second time we've had sex in your office." She contemplated with a grin on her face, still remembering feeling her husband inside of her.

"It's the third time actually, if you actually think back on it." He corrected her, turning his gaze somewhere else. "Once on the table, the other in this couch, and now--on the floor. That's three in this office."

She chuckled softly, kissing his collarbone and putting her head on his chest. "I really don't care were it happens, well for the exception of a few places."

The white haired captain simply grunted in response, clearly the first time they had done it had been something he couldn't forget at all. Being prudish, naïve, and very innocent got in their way--but it was very respectful and sweet. Karin had been the one to start the whole thing, inviting him to her room and telling him about what love and such was about.

Though, treating her like an innocent fifteen year old girl back then had been a very bad thing because she was very mature, always was. Learning about what sex was, what the consequences of unprotected sex were, and such--something he could never forget. Then again, back then he would have never imagined that that same girl who had explained all of those things would've become his wife, and the mother of his child.

+---+

A punishment is handed out for those who commit crimes, it is the ugly fate that is given to those who stray from the path of their lives and come close to the bad sides of the world. Everyone stood in the hill, the large gate to Hell stood open, it was a dark abyss that looked scary as one would stare at it, that darkness looked overwhelming and frightening to some degree.

As Yamamoto-soutaichou addressed the crowd, everyone's eyes were on Inoue Orihime. The once friend who had turned against them, was now being sentenced to be send to Hell for her crimes. Her health did not look so great, the loss of a son, the loss of friends and such had been too great. The pallid skin shined in the sun, the cold burning against her exposed face while the white robe only fluttered with the wind.

"Inoue Orihime, this is your sentence." The old shinigami stated, as the two special task force members pushed her inside the small red path that came out of the large gate.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, her tears rolling down her face. The dark hole sent chills down her spine as she was pushed farther, farther inside. "I'm sorry, Kurosaki Ichigo." The gate closed, disappearing in thin air.

Somehow, Ichigo felt strange knowing that Inoue would wonder aimlessly in hell, but those were the consequences that which she had taken upon due to her actions. He took Rukia's hand on his to let her warmth spread inside of him, to let him know that this is what his actions had lead him to without regrets.

"Are you going to be alright?" Rukia asked, her gaze lingering over his face. There was an emptiness growing there, and it was slightly painful to know that he suffered so much.

"I'll like to think I will be, but I'm not sure." His tone was morose, his eyes gazing at no particular object at all because he did not know what to think at all. "Somehow, she thought that an apology would easily make me forget the fact that I hated her for what she had done."

"I know that it won't be easy to deal with it, but you can overcome it." She smiled up to him, that smile filled with so much hope because she strongly believed in him. "You're plenty strong Ichigo, and if not I'll be there to kick your ass and fix you up."

The orange haired man smiled simply, knowing well that she was right about everything and there was no need to mope around like a child at all.

For Hinamori, no one went to see her off or anything at all--the destruction of her zanpaktou and banishment only stated what would happen to those who dared betray Soul Society. Hitsugaya did not want to show up at all, knowing well that he would probably do something ridiculous and his wife would beat him up for it. Feeling sorry was no longer a feeling he dared show towards his former childhood friend at all, and it would be considered pointless.

"Ne, Taichou, are you not going to go?" The strawberry blond woman asked, her blue eyes staring at him with curiosity.

"No, I've told you that. Now, get your paperwork done." He grumbled, continuing writing his reports and such. "There's no point on it, and it is not something I should do in the first place."

Matsumoto knew that perhaps deep down it had hurt him, the feeling of losing a friend was the same existing feeling she felt when her own childhood friend had betrayed everyone--but she couldn't bring herself to actually reflect back upon those feelings anymore at all. Even if Hinamori had been Hitsugaya-taichou's best friend, the fact that she was easily blinded by Aizen and was able to become selfish over the years made him realize who she really was.

"Taichou--why was the office a wreck this morning?" Curiosity sometimes needed to stay hidden.

The white haired captain felt his face heat up, a small pink tint coming to the surface as Matsumoto stared at him--perhaps he had a great night--but she dared not say anything out loud at all. From the looks of it, the relationship between her captain and his wife truly looked strong. She smiled at the flustered expression on his face, the denial becoming so evident on his face, but it was better to see him that way instead of looking very depressive.

"How should I know?" He finally managed an answer for her, trying to hide the fact that he had slept with Karin in this office last night. "Get back to work, or else I'll give you a full month of paperwork with no breaks."

"Aw, Taichou you're so mean." The busty shinigami could not help but give in, after all, spending many late nights doing paperwork was not something she would enjoy doing at all.

"Get to it, now!" The tick mark on his face was visible, making Matsumoto run out of the office and off to do her work before being made to stay all night completing paperwork. Perhaps being lazy was a very bad thing, but doing paperwork did not make-up for anything at all, so she saw no point to it at all.

+---+

* * *

_Gah, here's chapter 15. Took me a little while to come up with some good content seeing that there's so much that I wanted to write in one chapter, but that would be rather long. Sighs, okay I'll like to thank **Tsukihime nee**, **happygirl24**, and **WatermelonPrincess** for the wonderful reviews--thanks a lot you guys and its very appreciated as well and I'll like to give thanks to **nejisakura** for the favourite. Okay, so I manage to include the IchiRuki, RenTat, and YuzuHisagi moments like I wanted to--though not to the part where I actually liked them to be, but I put them there okay. I've been under some stress seeing that I surprisingly have yet one more week left off school--not so great at all, and there's the family rubbish I need to deal with as well. Sighs, well Orihime is in hell now--too bad, Makoto [the character that I had a hard time coming up with] is dead I presume seeing that I didn't want to write an scene over it, and Hinamori got banished--I don't know how in the hell I feel about that at all seeing that I hate writing about Inoue and Hinamori since they are the worst characters that I have encountered so far. Okay before I get ahead of myself let me do my shoutout part...._

_+Tsukihime nee- 'Its alright, I just appreciate it that you review my story so thank you so much. Hopefully you are able to get some rest soon.'_

_+happygirl24- 'I wanted to kill her actually, but then I didn't know how she should die seeing that I wanted for Toushiro to actually kill her--that sounded really cruel but I don't care XD. I'm horrible--okay anyways getting all weird here, but I thought banishment would be better for her along with the destruction of her zanpaktou. And, the idea of sending Orihime to Hell was from the first time I started reading Bleach--I thought that she deserved to be sent to Hell 'cos of how annoying and clingy she is! Ugh, okay hope that you enjoyed this chapter. And, thank you for the review as always.'_

_+WatermelonPrincess- 'I try to update as much as I can, seeing that its hard to come up with good material and I'm glad that I am able to provide quick updates. And, the idea came from a dream I had a long time ago actually--though not the exact same thing at all. I've always imagined that flowers shouldn't be thought of as pure or anything like that, so the idea of making them a deadly thing seeing that they can actually be very harmful to those who are highly allergic to them. And, so the idea of making her zanpaktou be deadly was like a fixation for me since I always read about her being weak--so that made me want to make her look deadly and harsh unlike her regular self at all. So, her zanpaktou is highly deadly since it can actually cause a large amount of internal damage and can lead to death, so yeah. Thank you for the review as well.'_

_Okay, now that I got that let me move on. The small slight smut part was horrid, I don't know how in the hell I managed to write something like that seeing that I actually have never written something like that at all--so my apologies for the scene that perhaps should be better, but I can't write a full out lemon at all. Sighs, I got sick so I don't know how in the hell that's going to make the next update possible!! Well, the ending is almost nearing 'cos I think I might end it at 20 chapters--so I'll have to move time fast to where we get to see much older Tatsuya and Takehiko 'cos I'll want to put their personalities there, I'll have to add more Kazuki and Amaya in there too and their new sibling--I can't say what the baby will be. Yuzu and Hisagi getting married--GAWD not another wedding--gosh! This is getting long, well you know what to do...Review!  
_


	16. What You Face

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. Bleach wouldn't exist without Kubo-sensei's creative mind at all.

* * *

**The Bridge Of Silence**

+---+

_+What You Face+_

_As the celebrations for Ichigo's 27__th__ birthday were on their way, everyone in the Kurosaki household were running around madly trying to get everything done in time--even though after the orange haired man continued to say that it was pointless on celebrating it in the first place. Though, as much as everyone would actually want to celebrate it, everyone was no where in sight since everyone was in 4__th__ division in the waiting hall, somehow the birth of the new baby came slightly earlier then expected. _

_Karin stood there, listening to Rukia-neesan screaming her lungs out at Ichigo--lashing out on him about how everything was his fault for the pain, somehow she felt slightly bad for him. Everyone had come out from other things, Kenpachi wanted to know if this new child would be strong as his father since he seemed still on a hunt to have another fight with Ichigo again. Byakuya of course wanted to be there for the birth of another niece or nephew, even though none of them would become head of the Kuchiki household as they were now nobles too. _

_Renji and Tatsuki had tagged along, though they were arguing still about some trivial matter regarding a vacation to the real world--if time permitted it. Takehiko wobbled, as he was simply a year old already wanting to walk like a normal grow-up just like Tatsuya, who was holding a thin book on his hands. Yuzu and Hisagi were present as well, both were nearly hanging at the edge of their seats--somehow they were going thru the early stages of parenthood as well. _

"_Ichigo, you fucking bastard!" Rukia's scream was heard, nearly everyone wanted to break out in laughter, but surprisingly no one did. _

_All of the family friends were there, Isshin was the one who was being the loudmouthed one of them, since he was shouted nonsense; making Karin punch him in the face as she always did. _

_Only nine months had gone by since then, everyone had forgotten nearly everything despite the fact that a lot of things were still arriving from Hueco Mundo. Letters, written out plans, the few altercations with the remaining Espadas that lived secretly--even though a threat was not very much present--everyone kept their guard up still. Investigations took place, people were sent in and out of Hueco Mundo constantly still after so long, they still had to watch over Karakura for Hollows that would eat human souls--everything still felt the same. _

_Though, the only thing that was their top priority was chasing after those damned Espadas that were still left--they weren't really that strong to be more precise, but they were needed for research. Groups of people were sent here and there, going on small missions that weren't really that dangerous--everything was moving up exceptionally after that stuff with Inoue Orihime and Hinamori Momo, and no one bother to reminiscence back to it at all. _

_After only 9 months, simple things were changed to be more exact. Kurosaki Isshin had abandoned his post as captain--again--due to the fact that he didn't want to take part in that world anymore and he would rather take care of living people. Yamamoto-soutaichou had decided to make Abarai Renji the captain--something that came as a shock for him only--everyone believed that he deserved the change. Karin was moved to become Kuchiki Byakuya's fukutaichou for the 6__th__ squad. 13__th__ squad requested to have Yuzu be their fukutaichou, since the post had never become occupied at all after the death of Shiba Kaien, and it was given to her like that. _

_Even though not much changes occurred, life could be perhaps said that it was back to normal in a slight sense, except that the arrival of another Kurosaki would surely bring more questioning by the research bureau._

+---+

_To my beloved friends,_

_I am so sorry for what I must do, for what my heart tells me to feel, and for what my head makes me think about everyone around me. The hate that runs so deep, so wild in desire to see the pain in your faces and to see the hurt expression of knowing that you have been betrayed by me. The feeling is so strong, the desire almost blinding and hypnotising like the light of moon here. My heart is filled with so much anger towards all of you, feeling like you did not want me around because in truth--I do not know if that's what everyone wanted. _

_Even though this me is telling me to do this, the other side that loves you still tells me not to hurt anyone, but I cannot deal with it any longer. My wish, my dreams…all of them have vanished to the depths of the darkness that this place has brought me. Should I be happy? Should I be sad? How should that make me feel, since my heart and mind no longer feel connected any more. _

_That selfish feeling that I have grown so accustomed to, it is so invigorating and so grand; it actually surprises me a lot. Seeing all of you fight, seeing that look of determination makes me loath all of you more because I don't have that look upon me. Spending days and nights planning, I've become so exhausted and grow more angrier that looking at my face scares me. Confusion, so much of it exists in my head right now that I can't even think clearly, or feel anything. I am so sorry…my beloved friends._

_Inoue Orihime_

Karin stared at the piece of paper in her hands, it had been wrinkled, folded and unfolded so many times that it looked like it had been written so many centuries ago--when clearly it had not being the case. The reasons of knowing why that woman did the things she did were still unknown, investigations had been set up for that reason--and she hated being the one in charge of going over all of the documents just for the sake of it.

"That bitch." She grinded her teeth together, the bitter feelings were still very much present. "Even four years later, she still makes my blood boil."

"She does?" Toushiro asked, his lips so near to her ears that she jumped back and hit him on the mouth. "Damn it."

The dark haired shinigami stood up, ready to punch the lights out of her husband for sneaking up on her like that, but refrained from doing so as blood was coming out of his nose.

"Shit, Toushiro don't fucking sneak up on me like that." She scolded him, taking the handkerchief from the desk and giving it to him. "What the hell are you doing? Asking for death wish or something?"

The white haired captain glared at his wife, his teal eyes holding that glint of get-you-for-that type of look, but tried to focus on making the blood stop with the piece of clothing he had on his hands.

"Otousan got a nosebleed, funny." Tatsuya pointed at him from the ground, and smiled widely. His own teal eyes showing mischief of them as he was holding a book on his hands.

"Tatsuya, that is not funny." Toushiro reprimanded him, squatting down to look at his son in the eyes. "Never imitate your mother, ever in your life. And, what have you done to Kuchiki-taichou this time?" The many complains of the four year old were getting around, and that even came from Zaraki as well--so rare.

"Nothing, I swear." The boy said, in a very serious tone that it was almost mocking. "He said that I needed to read this, though I don't even know what it is."

The white haired father took the book from his son's hand, the title of _1984_ was written neatly on the hardcover book. Somehow, human literature had become some sort of fashion for everyone to read after everyone continued to go to his brother-in-law to borrow his books, and even the most noble man in the entire Soul Society also had done the same.

"He said that I'll learn something, though I hate this book and have read it more then ten times." The boy said, his face stayed emotionless. Karin could only gawk, father and son were alike on that, but Tatsuya was very much a troublesome child now days.

"Tatsuya, go and return that book to Kuchiki-taichou." Karin ordered him.

As soon as their son left, Toushiro turned to his wife and looked at her, wanting to question as to why in the world she sat alone in the lonely office reading Inoue Orihime's letters for. They stood in silence for a moment, it seemed strange somehow though, and it was bizarre.

"So, did you need something?" She asked, breaking the silence first as she took her seat on the chair again.

"What are you doing reading those things, again?" He asked, looking at her carefully trying to search for the answer.

She sat there, shuffling with the papers and avoiding the eye contact, because she was still unable to move away from it at all. The feeling was eating her away, wanting to know everything and wanting to understand it so she could move on. She couldn't forget it easily though, that was due to the fact that Hinamori Momo had stirred so much inside it became foggy.

"Wanting to settle my own feelings, nothing else." Karin replied, putting away the letters. "There's something else you wanted, so out with it."

He scowled at her, she was being rather bitter lately it was getting out of hand, but he dared not say anything. "What did Unohana-taichou tell you?"

Hitsugaya was well aware that his wife was pregnant, though she wasn't willing on announcing it just yet due to unknown reasons, and he wanted to know. Everyone had come to him, telling him that there was a difference in her reiatsu lately, so he had become worried over that. Sending her to Unohana-taichou had been his final decision, to completely get down to the point of what was happening.

Karin stood up again, her movements forceful as she tried to ignore his stare that was burning at the back of her head--he was never the one to pry into things--but she knew he meant well. "I am."

"Y-you are?" He was shocked, putting his hands on her shoulders and turning her around.

"I am." The smile was evident, as she took his hand and brought it down to her stomach. "Two months, shocking really because I had no idea at all. Are you happy to hear that?" Her dark eyes were locked onto his ocean-green eyes, the loving look on his face was everything in the world.

"Very, very glad to hear that." He pulled her into a hug, kissed her head and allowed the warm feeling to spread around him.

This was going to be different, he would be there during all those nine months, taking care of her, and trying not to miss out on anything unlike with Tatsuya. The bitter feeling came to him, it didn't feel good knowing that he had abandoned her suddenly back then and it actually hard hurt him deeply. There was only so much that one could take, that one was willing to understand about it because it was a hollow feeling.

"Good, because you'll finally be able to see what it feels like to have a pregnant wife around." She smirked at him, kissing him and returning to her duties.

"You're going to make me find weird things." He groaned, it was unusual for him to complain about--anything. There was a first time for everything. She nodded at him. "I won't mind though, I've missed out on the last time."

Karin knew that Toushiro had harboured those feelings for so long, he was the perfect father for their son and he was always there for him, even if he would push aside his pride.

+---+

"Oi, Kurosaki." A tall boy with dark brown hair appeared, holding Amaya by the collar of her robes as she was trying to get away from the boy.

"Let go, you stupid beast." She hissed at him, while trying her best to escape.

Kazuki glared at him, Mizuki Akira was dragging his younger sister, and it seemed that she was causing trouble again. Today he was watching Koji, who continue to disappear on him because it seemed as though he had also gained early shinigami powers, and shunpo was one of the ones everyone dreaded for any shinigami child to learn.

"Aniki, tell this moron to let me go." The orange haired girl was shouting, if Mizuki would let her go the consequences would be dreary.

"Mizuki, let my sister go." He stomped towards the two, and pried his sister away from the tall boy. "Just because you're getting watched by 11th division, doesn't mean you have the right to treat everyone like shit."

The older boy smiled widely, it seemed as though he was high and mighty, but it was nothing since he was being watched by 11th division.

"I'll kick your ass Kurosaki, and you know it." Akira claimed, puffing out his chest and putting his hand on the hilt of his zanpaktou. "11th division only takes strong shinigami, not puny little things like you and your stupid sister there. Only idiots like you have to baby-sit younger siblings, pathetic."

Everyone seemed to only treat them like that, no one liked the fact that they were children of two powerful people in the Gotei 13, due to the fact that they were not like the rest. Kurosaki Ichigo and Rukia were their parents, an odd match for the most part, but insanely strong shinigamis. Their DNA was branded by great powers, early development of them, and very fast learners as well. All of the divisions kept their eyes on them though, even if they might not hold higher spots on any division--they were going to be picked for good spots in the future.

Of course, everyone was jealous of such special treatment, but even though in reality they weren't treated with special care just because they were the son and daughter of the elite Kurosaki shinigamis at all. So, stepping over them like rugs was easily for everyone, unless they were being over heard by someone who was close to the family.

"What are you going to do?" Akira taunted him, his grin growing wider as the two orange haired children looked at him. "Call your father or your mother?" He laughed now, making Kazuki angry and ready to explode.

"Shut the hell up, Mizuki." Kazuki shouted, his hands shaking with anger as his reiatsu was increasing. "Don't insult me, my sister, my young brother or any of my family at all. And, we don't get fucking special treatment you, fucking idiot."

"You stupid kid!" He grabbed him from the collar of his robes, and pulled him up to his height. "Look here shorty, don't get all insulting if you know what's good for you. Got it?"

"What are you doing?" Hisagi Shuuhei appeared, putting a hand on the boy holding his nephew by his robes.

"He was insulting us, and he threatened to kick Nii-san's ass." Amaya answered, as Koji was holding onto her leg. "And, he dragged me all the way here because I accidentally bumped into him."

Hisagi looked down at the boy, who looked like the new member of his squad. Everyone always complained about Kazuki and Amaya though, always saying how they acted like they owned Soul Society just because Kurosaki-taichou was their father, and the one who constantly saved Soul Society. Though, even if he really was a hero in everyone's eyes, but he was the captain of the 9th squad first and foremost.

"Mizuki, scramble before you make Kurosaki-taichou pissed off at you." The dark haired man pointed his thumb towards the direction. "Kazuki and Amaya, your mother said that the two of you need to return home early tonight."

"Hai, Hisagi-fukutaichou." The two of them bowed, and left.

Once they were away from hearing distance, Kazuki began to grumble out curses at that Mizuki for always causing trouble for him and picking on Amaya for no reason. Surely, his father wouldn't like to hear about those types of problems since he was always saying that everyone needed to learn how to stand up for themselves, and he had also promised his mother that he would become strong like his father to protect everyone.

No one knew though, no one had a single clue that it was pretty much difficult for the sons and daughters of captains and vice-captains to grow up outside of the Gotei 13. To always being pushed aside because they came from great parents, their names held so much honour and respect amongst all the shinigamis due to their strength. So, living under the shadow of their parents brought problems, but Kazuki did not care at all.

Holding the Kurosaki last name only meant that he would grow stronger, become a great figure like his father someday, and be able to protect Soul Society just like him. Amaya, she wished to be strong willed like her mother and a strong believer like her father, both of them were important figures. And, she wanted to live up to the last name and be known around.

"Aniki, can we go spar after this with Kenpachi?" She asked, as they stopped in front of the gate to their house.

"Sure, Ikkaku promised to spar with me today anyways. Plus, I think that Renji-nii will come too." The orange haired teenager smiled, picking up his younger brother as he was scowling at him. "What, you want to go as well?"

Koji's violet eyes shined, it was easy to convince him to anything, even for a two year old boy.

"Che, Kaasan and Otousan will be pissed because we took you with us." He shook his head, as the three entered the house.

+---+

_To my beloved Kurosaki-kun,_

_So much time has passed, so much things have changed that I have become far too empty inside and unable to deal with it. The hollow pain grows, the scar keeps becoming larger and larger, the void turning into a dark abyss without an end. Why? Kurosaki-kun, would you hate me for betraying you? That would be damning to me, hurtful to know that you would hate me, but why did you choose Kuchiki-san? Am I not good enough for you? My love obviously for you is like a sin, a betraying feeling that I can no longer have in this life because I allowed another man to touch me. I've become tainted, I gave myself to him just so he wouldn't kill you and the others--my promise to serve him and continue on with his wish. _

_Perhaps I have become Hinamori, she loved him dearly from what he told me, and he felt the same way. Pride got on the way though, that pride of becoming the God and ruler of the world…pride blinds our judgement to the world. Though, even as though my pride gets in the way, I know that my love for you cannot change at all and I will continue loving you no matter how much time passes. Except, that your love will only belong to Rukia and no one else, so perhaps I can't belong in your world at all. _

_I'm sorry though, if I had the chance to live more then one life then in those lives I would always seek for your love, follow you and be with you. My heart and soul are the only things I can offer you, though I know that you have given your heart, body, and soul to another woman. I will always love you, Ichigo._

_Inoue Orihime_

"Damn it, this is so fucking stupid." Karin complained again, as Toushiro pulled her closer to him as they laid in bed.

"People have their reasons to love, to betray, and to hate." He exclaimed, peering his lovely eyes over the letter. "There is no reason still though, and having that bastard's son doesn't count as an excuse. Though, why does she blame Rukia for it?"

From all the letter they have read, mainly those written to Ichigo always talked about Rukia--always saying that how his heart belonged only to her. Karin did not want to understand though, did not want to imagine what would've happen if her brother had chosen her--none of this would exist at all. The thought of knowing that she wouldn't be around Toushiro was still haunting, it hurt to think a world without him and with the other people in their lives now.

All of those precious memories, they existed so deep inside of her heart that it made her happy; she had changed from that arrogant ten year old girl from back then. Life was too great, happy and better at the moment despite the hardships of the past, and if the present did not exist like it was then nothing in the world would have a meaning.

"I don't know, and I really don't care." She put away the papers, and wrapped her arms around her husband. "Ne, Toushiro, would've you chosen another woman over me?"

The white haired man was shocked to hear that, somehow that question had never come to his head at all in the past. Surely, there were women who would've loved to marry him, but none of them would be fitting for him at all. The time in which he had visited her, he remember seeing how her smile actually suited her and her behaviour was different compare to other girls. She didn't throw herself at him, she spoke to him like a regular person and without acting all girly over it, and was never open about much.

Karin became the _girl_, always occupying most of his thoughts, appearing out of no where and smiling just for him. She understood, listened, cared, spoke--she was part of his world suddenly in a matter of months--and he had fallen in love with her. So, the thought of choosing someone else seemed strange in his head.

"No, I don't think that would be correct." He looked at her in the eyes, her gaze was strong and bewitching that being near her was always thrilling.

A smile appeared on her face, so radiant and warm. "So, what made you decide then?"

"You're awfully curious tonight, why?" Toushiro asked, wondering why she was suddenly questioning his love for her.

"No reason, I was simply wondering." Karin replied, rubbing her fingers on his jaw line and down to his lips. "I-I loved you after you appeared the second time, you had matured in a fashion that I could not help but become aware of you. Strange, your mysterious exterior and the way you expressed yourself--that was captivating in so many ways."

Surely, she could not help but think back on that, due to the fact that the attraction had always been present there all the time. Seeing him stand there, tall and strong willed like her brother--in a slight way Toushiro was like a reminder of Ichigo, though his cool exterior could not compare to Ichigo's own exterior. Karin noticed it, she could not stop thinking about him, looking at him--unconsciously her gaze turned to him without knowing.

"I could never stopped looking past you." He replied, looking away. "Everywhere I went, someone that looked like you always made me wish it was you. You sucked me inside so deep, to the point in which I could not stop thinking about you at all."

Karin smiled, and kissed him in the lips. His scent was always suffocating, inviting along with the cool that his body gave out--those blue-green eyes filled with strength and love for her. Hitsugaya Toushiro, the strong captain, the father of her child, the only man that dared to love her with so much. Was it fair though? A lot of people got hurt on the process, though that selfishness could not be moved by anything else and she would continue seeking out for him if Toushiro would've chosen someone else.

"I love you, a lot." She smiled, keeping her warm hand against his cheek. "I'm not sure what the world would be like without you, and I will not bring myself to think about it."

He smiled, running his hand on her hair. "I would never change it, that is why I will never leave."

All of those thoughts, those feelings that had developed over the years had become something that needed to take place upon in order to bring a change, at least it had happen to him. Being bitter, being cold and hard in the surface had gotten annoying at some point. Though, with the arrival of Karin it made everything much better, brighter.

+---+

_To my beloved friends…_

_What will become of us in time? The words go unmeaning, unspoken with time that they become hollow on their own. They grow darker, filled with uncertain and despair, forgotten and untouched by the heart at all. The friendship that existed there no longer does, the bond that had become strong and meaningful shattered easily--so I assume that it wasn't meant to hold such strength. My heart breaks though, knowing that all of you attempted to give me friendship and to care for me, but now I know that it was perhaps too much. _

_I have to lie to myself, to tell my heart that all of you still miss me greatly and that you would welcome me back with open arms. Though, I have to face myself and allow the truth to sink in, to pull my mind away from my fantasies and back to reality. Except, that I do not like the way that reality looks like, but it is what you face with destiny. I'm sorry, very sorry. _

_Inoue Orihime_

* * *

_Chapter 16, wow. Well I'll like to thank my awesome reviewers! You guys are so bloody amazing for the support, kind words, and for--everything. I don't know what to say, really I'm very touched by this. Anyways, well nothing much happens on this chapter really since I fail to transcend from the previous chapter to this one--though as I said this story is almost over. Well, we have moved four years from the last chapter to be more precise--so hopefully no one has gotten lost as to how the timeline is actually transcending as 'cos even I got lost a bit--silly me. So, Ichigo and Rukia have another son--shocking--not, and I named him Koji--I love that name actually. Yuzu and Hisagi have a child, though I haven't been really clear on that yet--but I'll write about it on next chapter and say what gender the child is and name of course. _

_+WatermelonPrincess- 'Thank you for the very kind words, really thank you. Yeah, I thought that punishment would be better for her and such, so I kept that idea here. And, well hopefully you get to update soon on yours. And, thanks I wish you a speedy recovery as well.'_

_+Kida Ookami- 'LOL, I don't like her either--she's too troublesome for my taste of characters. And, yeah I thought it would be a good spot to write such scene at since I don't really write much office scenes at all. Oh, yeah Matsumoto is so lazy--though I can relate to her 'cos I hate doing tedious tasks, though I get to it since I don't like to sit around and do nothing. Thank you for your review.'_

_+shrimpnoodlesoup- 'Yes, she's very lazy indeed. Though, I love her character a lot :). Thank you for reviewing as well.'_

_+Tsukihime nee- 'Thank you, I didn't really try hahaha 'cos I don't enjoy writing those kinds of scenes because I have never done it in my life. And, it was very fluffy indeed. Thanks again for the review.'_

_+happygirl24' 'Thank you, thank you--it was very hard to think up good punishments that seemed fitting so yea. I tortured Ichigo enough on this story, so he needs a break away from her XD and she's a bitch indeed. I can't stand her. Thank you for reviewing as well!'_

_The new Bleach chapter came out early in the week--so bloody wicked. I am still shaking from the awesome fighting that is going to take place--the revelation of where 'certain' Espadas stand at actually didn't shock me. I'm not going to give out anything, so I'll keep my gob shut on that--so moving on. I don't have anything else to say really--so I'll began working on next chapter ASAP to update soon before my cold gets in the way of my thinking. You know what to do...Review!  
_


	17. Struggling To Say

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. Santa would never agree to give me the right to it, curse that.

* * *

**The Bridge Of Silence**

+---+

+Struggling To Say+

_The warmth of the sun bore down upon Hinamori's back, her eyes focused on the large gate door that stood before her. A free and lonesome life was to lead ahead, beyond that door laid a rather uncertain future now that she hadn't ever imagined. Nothing would make a difference, no good byes or words of wisdom were being said, and only loneliness seemed to embark upon that distant future. Again, again, again. No one would come now, saving her from a miserable life ahead--she was alone. _

_The struggling pain in her heart began to throb, pulling that heart under the void. Growing hollow in a matter of seconds, time slowed down, the wind becoming fierce--the world turning its back against her. A tear escaped her brown eyes, glistening with the sun, but slowly vanishing as rain began to pour down on her face. Drop by drop, the sound of the wind and rain mixed together made her heart sank lower. _

"_Shiro…" Momo turned, no one was around at all. He wouldn't come, he would never dare to show his face in front of her again. The bad memories were hard to erase, so she didn't expected him to come and see her off. _

_Everyone had come to say something, to ask why she had done those things, but there was no answer. All of them had come, except for him. That loathing would run deeper then any other wound, the scar would heal in time as he would fall into the arms of that other woman. Momo didn't hate Karin though, she had become to respect her because of how strong she was. Just like her brother, Karin was worthy enough to be called Toushiro's wife. _

_A faint smile appeared on her face, her dark hair matted to her face as the rain continued to fall. Slowly, she was turning cold though--the cold from the world. _

"_Are you ready?" The guard asked, his face hidden away for her to see. _

"_Just…just a second." Her voice was soft, still. The look on her eyes was empty, void of any emotion at all as she had chosen not to feel at the moment of hearing that it was time to go. _

_Without much more to say, she could only think about wanting to say 'sorry' to her childhood friend. Seeing his face, hearing him say something--no matter if they were words of hate and discomfort--she just wanted to hear him say something. _

_Perhaps, this was how it was meant to be. The gate was opened, the street seemed empty and silent as her feet moved forward. There was something to look forward now, a survival life without a sword in her hands. She shut her eyes briefly, stopping again. _

"_Its time, there's no going back." The guard expressed, watching as the smaller shinigami shook slightly. _

"_I'm very much aware of that, thank you." Her tone was hard, almost as she was trying hard not to cry--which she was. _

_The silence was being overpowered by the rain, the smell of it travelled in the wind. The lullaby was soothing, unfitting for what was about to take place. Finally, she managed to step past the gate--she took a deep breath and turned before the gate would close. In spite of having made peace with this, tears began to fall from her eyes as she breathed hard, it seemed as though she had been holding so much inside. _

_The gates closed, her eyes could only stare at the sky for a few seconds before it disappeared. Despite of the sky being the same, somehow the view from Seireitei was different because she knew that everyone saw it just the same. In time, everyone would forget about her and everything that had taken place during the past few short months. Time would move, wounds would heal or be coped with, but her own would only become harder to avoid at all. The rain was replaced by snow, the white pure flakes falling onto the ground and turning into ice. _

_+---+_

The faint sound of rain pouring against the roof awoke Toushiro, his eyes peering over to the ceiling, though everything looked blurry. How long had he been asleep for? Surely getting sick was bound to be noted into his agenda, there would be so much paperwork to get back to. The pounding of his head was not helping though, his throat was dry and he felt clammy. The sky was grey, overcast with clouds filled with moisture; it was unpleasant.

As he sat up, the spinning motion pull him under its spell as he tried not to gag. His surroundings were different, the room was unfamiliar to him as it was not the room he expected to wake up in. The walls were grey, a few things were still in place--somehow it looked too familiar. Though, with the feeling in his head it was nearly impossible to recall anything at all. The clothes on him were weird, a black short sleeve dress shirt and lose jeans--not the everyday attire at all.

The sounds of the television were loud, the laughter of children were also present, and the smell of soup travel underneath his nose. Footsteps travelled from the downstairs, a soft knock followed from the other side of the door.

"Toushiro." Karin's voice filled him up. The door opened, and in a flash he felt her body press against his.

"Karin, what's going on?" Toushiro's voice croaked, his mouth was too dry.

Karin looked at him, her eyes pleasant at the sight of him and knowing that he would be alright. She kissed him, pulling him under that spell that would be nearly impossible to break. The scent of her fruity shampoo comforted him, his heart was beating faster now as she felt her fingertips graze his chest.

"I've been so worried." She whispered, her dark eyes focused on his. "You fell ill after we got here, old man kept on saying that it would take an entire week for you to recover."

Nothing made sense, what were they doing in the real world to begin with? He laid back, his head was in a daze once again--feeling like a weak shinigami made him scowl. Perhaps Toushiro remembered something, he remembered being in his office one night finishing his paperwork. Matsumoto was missing…again for the entire day, so what was the answer. His wife had come over, the sheepish smile on her face was that of no questions--well he wouldn't dare question it because he feared the yelling that would come.

Right, he remembered that she had begged him to take a week off so they could visit the real world. Announcing that she was pregnant to Ishida--it seemed that Quincies were now her friends for some odd reason--he failed to notice. Well, respect was given to them though for their work as well. So, Tatsuya had also begged to let him visit 'ojiisan' and he scowled.

"How long have I been out?" He found his voice, getting ahead of himself was now a bad thing.

"Three days--fever and fits at night." She looked at him. Karin had forgotten what her husband's eyes looked like for three days. "You got infected by a virus from here--something deadly for shinigamis apparently."

"I feel…strange." Toushiro looked at his wife. He brought his large hand to her stomach, a smile came to his face suddenly. "How are you feeling?"

The dark haired shinigami smiled, bringing her own hand up to met with his allowing the warmth to spread like wildfire inside. The happiness rushing like poison, though a good poison, and making the past three days a thing of the past. She smiled, her eyes meeting up with his as they stared at each other for the longest time--four years since that distant past--their feelings seemed to always look like they were when they had met. The feeling of a kick made her jump a little, making him look concerned.

"Its nothing, she's just kicking." Karin smiled, still holding onto his hand. "Only four months to go, and she'll be here. Are you excited?"

He stretched out to touch her face, to trace her jaw line and her lips. "I am, very much so." For the past four years, Hitsugaya's attitude had made a dramatic change, though he still remained the same in the office.

"Good, or else I'll have something to say about that." She grinned. The door opened, the white haired boy peeked in and smiled as he saw his father.

"Otousan!" He ran towards the bed, throwing his arms around his father. "Otousan, are you feeling better now?" His eyes were just like Hitsugaya's, but he was more of a mischievous child.

"Certainly, why?" Somehow by the look on Tatsuya's face, something was up.

"Because, because…" He was bouncing up and down, for a four year old he was full with so much energy. "Ichigo-niichan said he'll take us all to the beach, he said something about Otousan not having a license or something."

The white haired captain frowned at that, obviously he was not even from this world to begin with. He remembered to give his brother-in-law a piece of his mind regarding that subject, but until later while the dizziness would disappear.

"Dinner is ready!" Yuzu shouted from the kitchen.

"Do you think you can eat?" Karin looked at Toushiro with concern, and he nodded. "Come on then, Tatsuya go and tell Yuzu to put an extra chair."

"Hai." The boy left the room, his footsteps faintly stopping as he had reached the first floor.

"Who's room is this?" He asked, that question had been bugging him from the start.

"Ichi-nii's, he's staying at his own apartment." She answered. He got up slowly, feeling like he would throw up any second, but that wouldn't happen at all. "Are you sure that you're up to going downstairs?"

He wasn't even sure himself, but there needed to be something to prove that this wasn't a dream. Sure felt like it though, like a whiplash of some sort that he was unable to explain. That feeling wasn't good, the recurring dream was getting out of hand, and the confusion was an understatement.

The entire Kurosaki household gathered there, Yuzu was carrying the rice cooker to the large table while Hisagi was holding one of the twins on his arms. His father-in-law was holding the other, a large smile on his face while Kazuki and Amaya were running around as their younger brother, Koji sat still on the baby chair. Ichigo and Rukia were having a slight conversation in the living room.

Surely, the atmosphere was merry for the most part since everyone decided to go on vacation in the real world. He could still remember Matsumoto squealing at that, her and those shopping trips were bound to bring trouble with the pocket money given to 10th squad--all of it would be charged upon her account.

"Oh, Toushiro. Finally, I thought you had turned into Sleeping Beauty for a while there." Ichigo was the first one to notice, he smirked at him.

"I was sick, not pretending to be part of a fairytale, Kurosaki." Toushiro grumbled, taking a seat besides Hisagi.

"Hitsugaya, glad that you're looking better." The 69 tattooed man smiled at him, the baby boy on his arms giggling. "We're going to the beach tomorrow, I hope that doesn't bother you."

Surely, everyone knew about his great dislike over the warm weather and worried, so that was fine. He dismissed it a nod, he didn't mind at all which struck as strange.

"What's going on?" He was tired of whatever was going on, and he was getting to the bottom of it.

The entire house stood still, everyone glancing around each other trying hard not to say anything, seeing that no one wanted to remind him that today had been the day of--no one dared even think about it.

"Its nothing to worry about, you got sick." Isshin explained, his goofy grin placed on his face. "The virus attacked your senses and memories, nothing to worry about since you got plenty of rest."

Toushiro still felt confused, but took that as a proper answer and pushed all thoughts aside as everything suddenly returned to normal--slightly. Ichigo and Rukia began to argue, shouting as they always did about whatever they were talking about before. Hisagi and Yuzu were feeding their twins, Yuu and Hotaru, which was proving to be a very tedious task.

"Toushiro, are you sure you want to go to the beach tomorrow?" Karin asked, concern dripping in her words.

"Of course, Tatsuya wants me to go." He replied, scratching his head and yawning. "I've never felt this horrid before, and where in the hell is Matsumoto?"

"She's with Ikkaku and Yumichika." The orange haired captain answered, while his wife was glaring at him. "Renji and Tatsuki are here too, though they are visiting the relatives."

Tomorrow. That was bound to be an interesting day, he wonder how he would handle the heat and such. He wished that he was back in Soul Society again.

_+---+_

The smell of the ocean was stingy, the crushing waves sloshing rhythmically against the shoreline while the cawing of the seagulls joined into the cacophony. The entire family stood there, each on their beach wear and ready to have fun, despite the little dark cloud appearing on Hitsugaya's figure.

Karin looked at her husband, concerned that he would start feeling sick again because of the sudden rush from getting sick and then coming out suddenly like that. Except, that he had sworn that he would go for the sake of their son. He still pushed himself so much to prove his worth, obviously the wounding on his heart was very much visible. In spite of the years that had passed by, the fact that Hitsugaya Toushiro had missed the early stages of life of his son were pretty hurtful for him.

"Come on, its summer vacation!" Kazuki ran towards the beach, and jumping on the water. Amaya followed behind, as Koji was tugging on his father's hand to take him there.

The entire large family broke apart, Isshin going with Yuzu and Shuuhei to help with the twins--they were a handful due to how energetic they were. Ichigo and Rukia were enjoyed their own time, each of them splashing their children or doing some other fun thing.

"So, this is what everyone does in this places?" Hitsugaya asked, as he stood on the sand staring at the ocean.

"Not really, but close." Karin answered, taking his hand and staring at her brother and his wife. "I feel sleepy, so I'm going to lay down. Take Tatsuya though, he has wanted to come here when old man told him about the beach."

"I will, don't worry." He smirked at her, letting go off her hand and walking towards the beach while their son was jumping up and down happily.

She smiled while she laid down on the folded chair, the umbrella covering her from the sun and tried to relax. A bunch of women passed by, their eyes gazing at Ichigo, Hisagi, and Toushiro because they were strangely unfitting for the beach. Somehow, shinigamis held a different appearance compare to humans, once they got into a gigai. Their aurora was different, almost angelic and perfect, flawless in a sense that could not compare to anything in this world.

"They're hot." Some random teen girl stopped in front of Karin. Her friend was on the other side, the smile evident that she had caught something nice.

"Those three orange haired people look like brother and sister, wonder if they are?" The other one said, her smile still hanging onto her face.

"I know, they're so cute. How about that guy with white hair? His little brother looks so cute." The first one expressed.

Karin shook her head, obviously her husband, brother and brother-in-law were very good looking men but taken. Every woman would desire to be around those, including a few other men in Soul Society--though there was a lot that one would deal with though. The constant whispering, the gossip and everything that came of being together with a ranking officer in the Gotei 13.

She had accepted that long before she knew it, knowing well that there would be a lot of responsibility on becoming the wife of a captain. There was so much honour to uphold, showing shrewdness and wit because it was essential for the part.

"They're married you know." She spoke, standing up and looking at the two teenage girls.

The girl scoffed, looking down at her stomach and shaking their heads--somehow that got annoying after everyone kept on thinking that she was still a young teen like them.

"Oi, Karin pull out all of the water bottles." Ichigo called, as everyone was now coming back to shore.

The two teens looked like they might squeal, they were walking towards them with smiles on their faces--with the exception of Hitsugaya. The dark haired woman shook her head, perhaps those girls would need a kiddie pool since they were literally salivating over her brother, brother-in-law and husband.

"Kaasan, Koji won't leave me alone." Amaya complained, as the small Kurosaki child was tugging on her long orange hair.

"Koji, come here kid." Ichigo handed him a sandwich. "There, stop pulling on your sister's hair now."

Karin watched as the girls left, they were whispering to each other while still glancing back at them. A smug look came to her face, that glint in her dark eyes showed that she wasn't about to lose--Hitsugaya-Kurosaki Karin never allowed anyone to win at all.

So far, the small vacation in the beach was going better then expected, everyone was having a good time. The intended purpose was done, the only problem had been the Hollow that had appeared--but Kazuki was the one willingly to go and get the job done by himself. As the end of the day came, everyone boarded the bus that Isshin had rented for the day--a large family would never fit on a standard sized Jeep or van of any kind.

Hitsugaya thought that the day had to be one of the worst--all of those teenage girls staring at him like--he couldn't even tell why they were staring at him. The heat was unbearable, but he handle it just fine for his son and he was able to bear with the salty water that had gotten under his nose. What was the purpose of that? Surely fun wouldn't describe his first experience, even so, he appreciated the fact that the entire family had come. Tatsuya had fallen asleep on his seat, his head tilting to the side a bit looking peaceful, his mouth slightly open.

Somehow, the strange feeling of knowing that he was stuck in some kind of dream was getting to him. He leaned against his seat, gazing out the window of the bus and looking at the flashing scenery from the countryside of Karakura. Why had he felt weird for? There was something he was missing, an important date, an important meeting, an important event. What was it?

Those turquoise eyes followed a billboard, over the years he had become very knowledgeable regarding the real world and everything that it had to offer--and also with the help of Matsumoto's blabbering about everything that she would see during her visits. There was something about that poster that reminded him of someone, the doors closing that would make the bright light vanish forever, it seemed surreal in a sense for him.

The obvious hit him like a strike of a zanpaktou on his head, it was the easiest thing to remember. Yesterday had been the day in which his childhood friend had been vanished, that memory was so distant and forgotten that it was shocking to think about it. Four years and some months did change, making all of those bad memories to become faded with time, along with everything that had happen. So, why did he found himself thinking about it still? Hinamori Momo was gone, she had made poor choices in the path of her life, and got what she deserved.

"_...I'll come see you on my vacations."_ Those words were haunting, a lie that were nearly impossible to stray away from because those words hurt deeply.

In time, she stopped coming less and less, things changed. That constant isolation had become too much, everyone treating him differently because of his strange hair colour and eyes--he could not help it though.

"_I'll call you by your real name when you're old enough to go to the same school as me!"_ She never stopped calling him Shiro-chan, always being treated like a child.

Those were childish memories, so imprudent and held no meaning to recalling them at all. The loathing or the pity would never disappear at all, it would simply become unstirred like dirt in water--making everything unclear. His eyes focused again, at least he was thankful that no one had mentioned that to him at all--remembering was harder than to forget about it completely.

"Toushiro, are you okay?" Karin snapped him out of his thoughts, her dark eyes focusing closely to his.

"Fine." He lied, tearing his gaze away from her yielding eyes. Her expression was careful though, almost as if she knew well what he was thinking about. "I'm fine, nothing to worry about at all." Toushiro's reassurance did nothing to sway her away though, it only made Karin determined to get right to the truth.

"You--remember right?" She looked away. He was shocked at how easily she read him, then again she could do it any day of the week. Amazing was not even the word at all.

"I imagined, but I'm trying." His tone softened, his hand found hers and took it. "Thinking about Momo only brings pain, its like everything becomes so unfocused. All the choices, all of the mistakes of the past meant nothing at all. It was living a lie, living under made up memories that resort to nothing--its all empty."

She understood, to some extent, that her husband wanted to forget everything. Though that would be asking for the impossible, because she wanted for him to stop looking so empty himself. He was fair, modest to some extent, easily annoyed by the lack of commitment from people, and the lack of others to understand certain actions that they had been handed. Toushiro was prideful on his own right, always doing the right thing and being fair--that made her wonder why no other person would accept him in their world.

Frankly, she hadn't picked him because of those qualities at all. It was that passion that laid behind those teal eyes, the burning desire to stride for more and gain more in life, it was filled with certainty and fairness. No one compared to him at all, no one could hold up a candle to him, even if they tried. Comparing those traits to others seemed fair, though no one could easily compile against his achievements at all. No one would, no one deserved to be praised by him because they weren't dutiable like him.

Karin failed to know why Hinamori wouldn't choose him, what made Aizen so great? Looks, talent--none of those things mattered at all. What was his passion in life? Becoming greater then God was nothing, simply considered like a child's play. She didn't want to know though, life without Toushiro wouldn't be a life at all, and she wanted him for herself only.

"Forget it, I shouldn't be thinking about her in the first place." He smiled at her, though it did not reach his eyes at all.

"Tell me, it annoys me when you do that." She glared at him, trying hard to go deep inside of his locked up emotions. "You're not fine, you space out all the time--its like you're an empty shell inside. It-it hurts to see that empty expression, like you can't forget about her."

A pained look shot to his face, hurting her was the last thing he wanted to do in his lifetime. "I'm sorry, my behaviour has become unacceptable over the--however long it has been." He paused, looking at his wife and down at her stomach. A tiny life was growing in there, it was a little girl that would come into this world in a matter of months.

"Don't worry, you'll get by." She smiled again, grasping his hand tightly and giving it a gentle squeeze. "Thank you, for coming here and doing that for our son. I wonder what she would look like, you or me?"

For a second, the tinge of guilt came to him, but left suddenly at the mention of his daughter. They talked throughout the entire ride home, despite the fact that he struggle to say anything at all, the vacation hadn't been such a bad idea at all.

"_Don't bother, Momo. Stupid bed wetter." _He remember that still, but Toushiro needed to stray away from old memories. _"Good bye, Hinamori." _

The sun was sinking in, the golden colours of the sunset were bright and warm as the faint mist of the rain came pouring down again. Ichigo and Rukia got into the shinny black car, their kids taking their seats on the back and took off. Hisagi and Yuzu were tired, excusing themselves inside with their twins. Isshin taking off to the clinic, at least he wanted to pick back up on the night shifts for the sake of it--even though he had to travel to the hospital that Ishida Ryuuken owned.

"Otousan, we're going to get wet." Tatsuya complained, as he was tugging on his hand trying to pull him out of the soft falling rain.

"Sorry, come on then." Hitsugaya smiled down at his son, picking him up and walking inside the house.

It was a little quaint, the simplicity that a few days of human life were like despite of him only experiencing only a day of it. Those weeks in the past were nothing to the present, it was like his purpose of coming here was to only protect the city from Hollows--it was always about fighting. This time, the purpose was sole on pleasure of relaxation and away from the stuffiness of his office, so the feeling was different.

Life would return again, the piles of paperwork would be waiting for him, and his duties would also come back. He groaned, that paperwork.

_+---+_

* * *

_Another chapter, thank you for the wonderful reviews. I'm very proud of how this story is going so far--even though I complain about how I don't like certain parts--but its the longest story that I have kept up with. Anyways, so thank you for all of you who have supported me so far. Well, this chapter was slightly off--I thought that I needed to write about how Hitsugaya would feel about Hinamori and the things she did. Firstly, I hate her which I am sure everyone notices that, but I felt like Hitsugaya didn't need to hate her. He just simply needed to forget her, to move away from that alone, so he struggles a bit with that. We're exactly four years and five months into the time now, so hopefully no one has gotten lost. Its around Winter-ish in Soul Society by the way. So, I added a summer scene because I felt like there needed to be more scenes of everyone being back in the real world--so I thought it was fun. _

_+Tsukihime nee- 'No, I dislike her so badly because of how whinny and clingy she gets. And, I don't like Momo at all. So, its all good I have my own favourites and the ones I don't like. Thank you for the review though. Actually, I thought I'd explained on my story that they were letters that they found. Well, I can't go back now and correct that mistake, but they are letters that they found while they raided Hueco Mundo again. I think I PM-ed you the answer to that. Well, I'm clarifying again just in case.'_

_+happygirl24- 'Thank you for the kind words, and yes. I have to agree, I thought that it would be a neat way of finding out why she did the things she did. So, I hope that you know that she blames Rukia for everything--I am sure that you got the idea of that letter to Ichigo. So, yeah the letters were a way of me explaining a lot of things and go a little bit more into her feelings.'_

_+noneurbeeswax- 'Thank you very much, I'm glad that you love this story. And, well he's just an OC I created for the purposes of this story--you won't see him again. Perhaps, I'm not sure I'll probably use him in the future again for the other chapters.'_

_If this chapter sounds depressing or boring, sorry that's how all of my thoughts feel like at the moment since I have a cold--surely that does not help with writing anything dealing with happy emotions at all. Eek, the nostalgic feeling is horrid. Anyways, well that's all I have to say so you know what to do...Review. P.S. What did everyone think of who's the number one Espada? I actually thought it might have been that one, so it didn't really shock me that much--though the chapter was very good.  
_


	18. Storming Lamentation

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. No, no I fail to own it again!! Curse it, well I can't whine now.

**_Before we get into the lovely chapter:_**

_I would want to wish my readers a MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR, KWANZAA, HANUKKAH, or any whichever holiday that you and your family might celebrate. I wish you joy and happiness during the holidays, and my best regards for the upcoming year. And, may the new year bring cheer and another chance to create a different path. Happy Holidays! -** bleedingxinspace** _

* * *

**The Bridge Of Silence**

+---+

+Storming Lamentation+

The snow continue to fall, the once green ground now was covered in white along with almost nearly all surfaces that went uncovered. Karin sat on her desk, mindlessly tracing around a blank piece of paper as though she was a silly high school girl. Her mind seemed filled with other thoughts, mainly that hunger for something sweet. The thought of visiting 11th division to see Yachiru was tempting, but Kuchiki-taichou would not like that very much because it wasn't the proper behaviour for his fukutaichou.

"Kurosaki, take this reports to 9th squad." Kuchiki Byakuya appeared suddenly, a large stack of papers on his hands.

"Hitsugaya, Kuchiki-taichou." She corrected him, taking the papers and walking to the door. "Its Hitsugaya, married."

"My apologies, Hitsugaya." He was always so stoic about everything. She sighed, it was very stupid of her to try to get him to correct his mistake because even if she had been married for nearly four years--none of it would make a difference.

The cold air brushed against her pallid skin, there was a slight blush on her face due to the wind as she shunpoed to her brother's squad, but it was slow. Being pregnant was certainly stressful, tiring and very hard to move around. Three months to go, the baby would be born somewhere around March or perhaps earlier--depending on how Unohana-taichou would say that her child had developed since babies were not the same as they were in the real world.

As she landed on barracks of the 9th division, she felt a sharp pain run thru her but did not think much of it as she walked slowly towards her brother's office. The snow that had fallen on her hair and body melted, the warmth spreading around her was comforting and welcoming. As she walked, the pain returned so she slowed down to breath--pregnancy was never easy and she couldn't deal with it alone.

"Hitsugaya-fukutaichou." 3rd seat Mizuki Akira appeared, his face was plastered with a pleasant smile. Karin was well aware of how that kid really was--a bully. He was always harassing his niece and nephew constantly, just because they were Ichigo's children.

"Mizuki-san, is my--Kurosaki-taichou here?" She asked, wincing from the pain that was not going away at all.

"Hai, he's in the training area right now. Would you like me to accompany you?" His smile was sheepish, teenage love. She grimace.

"No, thank you." She turned, walking away quickly to find her brother. The pain would not leave, with each step she took she was wincing. "Damn it, this fucking hurts."

The snow was blinding her now, her vision was blurring out as she walked slowly towards the training area that had moved out into the forest. She took the small path that was free off grass, a simple rocky path she had to followed that lead up towards the clearing of the forest where the training grounds were placed at. The air settled, turning cold as the forest grew denser with each step as the canopy that once stood green, had turned white with the amount of time it had been exposed to the snow.

Karin's breath seemed to grow ragged, her feet becoming less functioning as she continued to walk slowly. The speed though, it was dropping as she leaned against a tree to rest for simply a second--though the pain became worse and she slid down the tree trunk. The whistling wind passed by, her eyes unfocused entirely and she passed out from the pain that was coming from her stomach.

+---+

"Kuchiki-taichou, where's my Kaasan?" Tatsuya perked up, the silence was a waste for him. His bright eyes focused on the stoic man's eyes.

"I sent her on an important task." He replied monotone at the child, averting his gaze away from the small boy. "Is there something you're looking for, Hitsugaya Tatsuya?"

He stood there, his small frame would be laughable as he tried to look strong and tall against the captain in front of him. Though, compare to his small frame--he was a four year old of course--his intelligence wasn't matched easily with other children his age at all. Byakuya was well aware that Tatsuya was smart, branded by his father's genes and his mother's strength.

"Not really, I'll go find Kazuki-kun." He smiled brightly at him. "Bye-bye." Before the older captain noticed, the small boy was gone from sight.

The raven haired shinigami glanced outside of his window, the snow was falling down like rain--fast and fierce that it seemed like a snow storm would brew any time soon today. He closed his eyes, focusing only on the paperwork that needed to be completed, but his mind wondering over his fukutaichou. Karin was easy to get the job done, quick and reliable that most of the paperwork was taken care at a fast pace--she was very knowledgeable.

Even while bearing a child, she wasn't slowing down at all, but somehow today she was taking a little bit too long now. He wasn't the one to worry so much, but due to the situation she was in--it was very much proper to worry about her. Byakuya stood up abruptly, he crossed the office in a few strides and slid the door open.

"Kuchiki-taichou, good afternoon." The division greeted him as he walked, his walk was that of a noble and very intimidating. Karin was the only one who wasn't easily moved by that, nor had been his brother-in-law when he had met him.

"Nii-sama?" Rukia appeared, she was wrapped in a thick coat. Her violet eyes staring at him, attentively of course, but still holding her respectable gaze.

"Rukia, have you seen Hitsugaya?" He asked. His mind still on her, the state she was in obviously wasn't helping with the worry he was hiding so well.

"Karin-chan? No, I have not." She answered. "I was just with Ichigo, but we didn't see her at all."

"I see." Byakuya replied, his gaze dropping a bit.

The worry on him would never surface at all, no one would see the emotions play around his face at all--but today he simply could not handle it. Two lives could be lost, many people would get hurt by that, and there shouldn't be any more mourning or sadness anymore with the way things were being taken care at the moment.

"Nii-sama, what's going on?" Rukia's tone became worried, her eyes searching for the truth behind his, but that was impossible to do so.

"I'm worried, she has not returned." He answered, his eyes closed. "I sense her, come Rukia."

"H-hai!" The petite shinigami followed her brother.

+---+

Matsumoto hated many things--one being doing paperwork that would only drag on and on for hours--but what she hated the most was the long silence that would fall on the office. Certainly, the silence was far too much to handle while doing the tedious task at hand, and the strawberry blond shinigami wasn't having none of that today.

"Taichou, why does it have to be so silent?" She whined, propping her head on her crossed arms in front of her in the table. "Have you picked a name yet? Karin-chan hasn't said anything, she's being really crabby."

The white haired captain grumbled incoherently, his eyes never leaving the paper in his hands at all. Matsumoto hated doing paperwork, absolutely, but she couldn't do anything after she had willingly volunteered on doing so.

"No, we have not. Get back to work." Hitsugaya exclaimed, shaking his head on the process. Dealing with her was impossible, but at least there had been some noise. "You had your share of speaking, now quite and work."

"You're so mean, maybe her anger is rubbing off on you too." She smiled candidly at him.

"Matsumoto!" He spoke louder, his tone was obviously he was not amuse at all. "If you don't--"

"Hitsugaya-taichou, come quickly to 4th squad." Hanatarou Yamada interrupted. "Its Karin-sama, she's in labour."

Both of them stopped bickering, Matsumoto bore a smile on her face as she thought about a new baby in the 10th squad. Compare to hers, Hitsugaya's was a horrified expression because their daughter was being delivered earlier then anticipated. It was like time suddenly stopped, the ghastly feeling of fear reared its ugly head once again in his world. Toushiro was tired of it though, tired of having to deal with that pain and everything that came with it. If something happened to his wife and daughter, the world would crumble easily in front of him.

As he followed the usual timid shinigami out of his office, those type of thoughts were pushed away instantly because he didn't want to think about it anymore. There would be positive thoughts, Unohana-taichou had stated that babies weren't compare to that of the real world, so there was a chance that nothing bad would happen at all.

"Hitsugaya-taichou, right this way." Kotetsu Isane greeted him as he entered, a smile placed on her face. "You must be worried." He was confused, nothing more or less. "Don't worry though, she's fine. Kuchiki-taichou and Kurosaki-fukutaichou found her in time."

Before Toushiro had a chance to ask, the doors to the delivery room were opened and he saw Karin laying on the bed already shouting curses that would perhaps echo throughout the entire Soul Society. There was sweat already on her forehead, she was pushing and breathing. Her eyes were focused, clearly the pain wasn't easily claiming her composure at all.

The room was filled with strange machines, the beeping and the rest of the sounds were new along with the smell. Hitsugaya was hit with nostalgia, he tried to picture the day in which Karin had given birth to Tatsuya--had she looked the same as she did now? Who had been the one there, watching out for her? Her brother might have, or Yuzu, perhaps Rukia might have been there.

"Hitsugaya-taichou, just in time." The motherly captain smiled at him, her smile was very warming. "She wouldn't do anything until you came, so please go and hold her hand."

"…" He felt mute, following the directions of the 4th squad captain. He stood besides her, stretching out his hand to grab hers.

The grandiose feeling crept up suddenly, shocking Toushiro for a second before he realized the situation he was in at the moment. Nothing could break it for the time, this is what he had prepared himself to see for the longest time, to not miss it for any second. His turquoise eyes glistening, that spark was growing with so much energy everyone could easily see how happy the white haired shinigami was at the moment.

"Toushiro--you're here." A smile appeared on her face. Those dark eyes focused on him, the smile on her face becoming more warmer and gentle. "I-I'm glad." Karin hissed, grabbing his hand tightly. The warmth from her spread around him, it was a feeling he couldn't bring himself to describe at all.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." He smiled tenderly at her. She nodded, and begun to follow the instructions from the captain.

Happy wasn't a word to describe it, there was nothing that could describe the feeling clearly at all. All the words wouldn't do justice, the sight of the child coming to the world was a feeling that Hitsugaya wouldn't forget at all. His heart and chest felt compressed, at the thought of seeing Karin in pain was still hurtful to a rather extreme point, but he figured that it was the case when dealing with a delivery.

Going from a frantic state, to a happy, to a worry, and back to happy he manage to stay together throughout the entire thing without complaining about the pain on both of his hands. He swore that perhaps he wouldn't go back to work instantly with that hand, either way though, he couldn't return for a full month at least until everything went back into place.

"I love you Toushiro." Karin muttered, as Unohana-taichou instructed her to push hard one last time.

The crying of the little girl was soft, almost as if she didn't really want to cry. Her dark hair was glossy, her small baby face was just like all the babies faces were like--she looked amazing. He kissed Karin's forehead, his eyes leaving his daughter for a second while she got cleaned up.

"Congratulations, Hitsugaya-taichou and Hitsugaya-fukutaichou." Unohana-taichou expressed, finishing up healing Karin before throwing off the gloves on her hands. "I'll like for both mother and daughter to stay for the night, a simple overnight inspection before letting the two go. I'll go announce it to everyone outside, I'm sure they'll be eager to know." She smiled again, both parents nodding at her and returning their attention back to the baby.

"She's beautiful." He exclaimed, holding their baby girl in his arms.

"I'm glad you think so, or else this fucking pain wouldn't express anything." She smiled, looking at her little girl on his arms. "What would be a good name for her, I decided last time. Its your turn."

For the longest time, since she had known that she was carrying Toushiro's child again, she knew that the least she could do was to allow him to pick a name. Still, the feeling of being a mother was foreign, Tatsuya was a great son and amazing. Though, sometimes she wondered if she was being a great mother, but she didn't doubt on her duty at all. Happiness came out of that alone, a happiness that could not compare to any other happiness in the world. It was so strong, like a flame burning brightly against the dark background.

His face was thoughtful, his eyes focusing on the baby as if he was trying so hard to concentrate--she smiled.

"Yuri, lets name her Yuri." He smiled up at his wife. "I'll like to name her that."

Karin nodded, the widest smile was spread on his face that it made her get teary eyed, it was hard not to think about the fact that he had wished to be there on the birth of their son. For now, she wouldn't think back on that memory alone at all because either way, they would only be replaced by this moment and nothing more.

+---+

The closest friends were there, everyone smiling at the sight of the new Hitsugaya member. Ichigo and Rukia held hands during the announcement of the baby being a girl, it was a good feeling at the moment as it was for their children. Karin's twin, Yuzu, and Hisagi were smiling at the good news that both of them were alright and very happy to know about that as well.

Though, while they were keeping their happiness in a quiet sort of form, Isshin was the one who was being so loud and screaming like an idiot. He held pink balloons, a large basket filled with baby clothes and other goodies for the parents--surely that was going a little overboard with everything.

"My loving daughter has granted me another grandchild, Masaki would be proud." He wailed, earning a kick from Ichigo on the face.

"Stupid old man, can't keep anything quiet." The orange haired shinigami grumbled, holding his fist up ready to punch his father again.

"Aniki, aniki, aniki." Tatsuya, Amaya, and Koji were chanting while they were spinning in a circle.

While that was taking place, Hitsugaya shook his head as he re-entered the room where Karin and Yuri were now resting for the time being until tomorrow. It was strange, not being bother by the overly used emotion at the moment, all the worrying and irritation had drained from his body because now he was filled with the strong emotion inside of him.

"That old man, always so loud about everything." Karin muttered.

"Kaasan, Otousan!" Tatsuya entered the room, skipping towards his parents. "She's my little baby sister."

"That's right, Yuri." Toushiro smiled, picking up his son and sitting him on his lap. "Look, she has your mother's hair--we're not sure about the eyes though."

The small boy stared at his young sister, the soft look upon her face was angelic and peaceful. Somehow, he understood that this was something special, having the right to carry out his duty as an older brother and a son. There was a determination that laid in the end, to protect the ones he loved just like his mother and father. To believe strongly just like his uncle Ichigo and aunt Rukia, to become the pillar of support for those that were part of his life now. Remain gentle and thoughtful, like aunt Yuzu and uncle Shuuhei, always following your heart and be open minded.

Even for his young life, Tatsuya was well aware of his life and those that surrounded him. Everything was clear, put right in the path of life that would lead somewhere far and filled with whatever emotions he pictured it with. Though, that aside, his duty was not to take care of Yuri and become a brother that can be reliable, strong, and very caring for her protection. Tatsuya watched, his sister moved in his mother's arms and then opened her eyes. The same eye colour staring back at him, a strong colour for a girl who would become strong like their parents.

"She has the same colour as us, funny." He smiled at his father and mother. "I'll become strong, to protect her."

"Taking those tips from Kazuki and Ichi-nii again, silly." Karin ruffled her son's hair, but was happy to know that he wasn't being selfish for being the oldest. "Your four, there's no hurrying because your sister won't need protection anytime soon from bullies."

"Your mother is right, you're four." Toushiro supported his wife's decision, but Tatsuya wasn't being cooperative on that at all.

"Being four sucks, I'll be five in a few months." He grumbled, folding his arms across his small chest and tried to look defiant. "Age is just a number, something that exist for us beings to take on account because our lives must end at some point. And, I'm not a child."

Both of them were shocked, it was incredible as to how smart he really was and how he was able to handle bullying from others. Strong, everyone knew that he was strong and very willing to understand, but he was being rather stubborn.

"Tatsuya, you're being stubborn and rather rude." The white haired shinigami changed his tone. "And, if you do not stop, we're going to have to put some rules down."

Tatsuya sighed, controlling his anger was easy and he couldn't offend his parents at all. "I'm sorry." His tone was simple, but very much apologetic. "It was my fault for being rude like that, truly sorry about that. I'll wait, patience will be rewarding in the end."

The dark haired shinigami sighed, it was hard to imagine how easily he came to conclusions like that. He was forgiven like that, punishments weren't easily dealt with by him, and he was responsible for only a four year old kid.

"I'm sorry to say this, but both mother and daughter need their rest." The 4th squad captain entered. The serene expression on her face seemed comforting, she shooed both father and son out of the room.

"We'll come back tomorrow, Kaasan." Tatsuya called as he disappeared out of the door.

"Sleep, Karin." Toushiro smiled, and followed his son out of the door.

+---+

* * *

_Short chapter, my apologies. After the awful and boring chapter from last time, I give you a little less depressive and moody chapter. Nothing much to say really, I wanted to go into a different direction with this chapter--but it would end up on a foul note on my book. Sighs, I brought you the birth of Hitsugaya Yuri (I'm into the gist of using surnames first now!). I love the name Yuri actually, I was going to name her 'Sayuri' but decided not to 'cos I would get confused with a side story I'm working on. Anyways, but yeah I though it would be better to have that instead of the other thing. _

_+happygirl24- 'Again, my deepest apologies. Stupid meds, made me all moody and it was horrid. Hopefully this chapter was better. Sorry, again.'_

_+Tsukihime nee- 'Agree, though I do have a tendency of bashing a lot. Well, not in stories particularly, but you know where I am going with that. I tried to make it short and to the point--meaning my dislike for the two particular characters. So, it wasn't so bad. Hope that you enjoyed this chapter.'_

_+Kida Ookami- 'Yes, it was cute I thought too. I've been trying to add more to that, so yeah. Hope that you enjoyed this chapter.'_

_+WatermelonPrincess- 'Its alright, you mentioned your reason so I understand. Thank you though. I needed for Hitsugaya to forget about her completely, to move on and make peace with it so he could lead a better life. And, well how did you like the new baby? LOL, that was hard to decide upon since I've made Ichigo's children to look like him, with the exception of Koji I believe. Um, gotta go more into detail with the children. I have yet to describe Yuzu's and Hisagi's twins! XD.'_

_Well, I'll be returning with a new chapter perhaps before the end of the year. I'm not sure--I'll have to work it out and since I'm going to my Aunt's for Christmas for one night so I'll have some time to write something down while I'm there. As long as my cousin's bitchy pregnant girlfriend doesn't bug (she's very annoying) along with my older cousin's baby (good grief, where in the hell do many babies come from!! Stop it the bloody--that bloody bird's name 'stork'?) Anyways, rambling off there. So, I think I'll be moving a few more years down the road on the next chapter. As I said, I want to explore more sides the Kazuki, Amaya, Koji, Tatsuya, Takehiko, Yuri, Hotaru and Yuu. Well, that's all I have to say--have a safe holiday everyone--damn forgot to add that up at first! Well, you know what to do...Review!  
_


	19. Stumbling First

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. Too bad '08 wasn't a good year to own it, perhaps I will own it when its a Sunday between Monday-Friday in '09.

7240 words for this long chapter!

* * *

**The Bridge Of Silence**

+---+

+Stumbling First+

The soft breeze of spring smelled sweet, it was a bit warm and bright with the sun shinning down upon the reborn ground. The bits of snow that had been left behind were melting off, though there was still a few more days of cold to get past by. A new year had begun, new solutions to pass by and trying to work on attempting to better one's resolves from the past year.

Hitsugaya sighed as he signed his last paper for the day, he had spent nearly the entire early morning trying to complete it just so he would go home early--the rest was going to be left for Matsumoto to complete. Life had return back to normal, a bit boring with the fact that really wasn't much to do at all; and only the small incidents of Hollows that appeared randomly in the living world. It was slow, but nothing much to complain for the most part.

Except that wasn't so hard, only having to take care of his son and daughter were the hard part; even if he had been a father for four and something years. The lifestyle was hard to get around by, often dealing with a lot of sleepless nights and a lot of sorting out--it was a bit difficult. The only thing was that, he couldn't complain about it at all because he enjoyed that private lifestyle.

There were so many things that needed to be learned, re-taught because they had gone unforgotten, and a bunch of new emotions to get used to again. Allowing a heart to beat once again, to return back to it's original state after allowing to turn cold suddenly. It was a happy life, a family that he wouldn't trade for anything in neither realms of this world at all; it was perfect for his standards.

Somehow, if he would look back upon the day in which Karin had come to his life it wouldn't really explain how his life came to be now. How everything changed for the better. Somehow, it would not help at all for anything, but he was content with everything. Toushiro knew that life was better this way, instead of wallowing in pity and sorrow that wasn't even built for him, he was better this way. Life was simpler, easier and clearer to live with.

Toushiro shunpoed home, walking wouldn't make his trip back home any easier and shorter. Karin, Tatsuya, and Yuri waited for him to come so early in the day--so he hurried quickly. The sight of the home was comforting, the warm feeling would spread inside of him and a small smile appeared on his face as his wife walked out of the house.

"Welcome home, I didn't know you were going to get back early." Karin smiled, walking up to him to kiss him. He wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her close, and he kissed her awaiting lips. "Not that I complain."

"I didn't feel like staying the entire day." He replied, taking her hand and leading her inside their home.

"Strange that you're taking a day off, weird." She commented with total sarcasm.

They took a seat on the small couch on their living room, the place had a very welcoming feel to it since it had changed so long ago after they had become a family. The subtle changes had been either good or bad, that was the balance that needed to be kept in order to co-exist with everything around them, and the people that inflicted changes as well.

"No, I just couldn't concentrate at all." He answered, sighing and closing his eyes while laying his head on her lap. "Is Yuri sleeping?"

"No, she's with Rukia-nee. She's a baby, so there shouldn't be much to worry about." She stroke his white hair. It was soft, almost silky. "Tatsuya is with Kazuki and Amaya along with Takehiko in 11th division."

He sighed again in complete relaxation, his eyes staring out of the Shoji doors into the bright Spring day as the light reflected upon the little patches of green grass that had grown back. The world surely moved slow, it reacted in synch with everyone now--it was different from the previous years of Soul Society. Before Aizen had turned against them, before anything huge started to dawn upon them; it was a forgotten peacefulness.

The world moved ever so slowly during times of peace, though somehow a brewing storm would only be lay ahead in the future, but it was not worth wasting time thinking about it. This time it existed in order to think, to plan ahead for the uncertainty the future brought with its ever winding reach. Hesitation and pre-planning shouldn't exist so much or be taken into account so seriously, the surprises it would bring was what made it best to look forward to it. Like not knowing what laid in a storm.

The rock fell, creating ripples that would never end at all it would continue on like a circle. The continuing cycle would exist, but in the end, it would only wear one out.

"Are you alright?" Karin was concern, he was being silent.

"Yeah, it just feels completely astounding." Toushiro couldn't put it in words. "This was something I never thought I'd live to see again, not after that from Hueco Mundo."

She opened her mouth, but closed it back at the mention at the time in which he had been kept in Hueco Mundo for so long. He had never talked about it, never shared his feelings regarding about the time he was imprisoned against his will. Then again, her husband was never the one to share much feelings with everyone, and he was always very much reserved on his own right.

"Knowing that there are only two choices seems complicated, strange." He continued after the brief pause, his hand reaching out for hers. "Staring at the same walls, the bright moon shinning down upon the cell to reveal the loneliness. A feeling like that was new, raw and sorrowful like nothing else in the past--a choice of life and death seemed so close."

"Tou…shiro." She whispered softly.

"All of that pain that was inflicted was so strong, each breath became the last--time moved so slowly." This time, he closed his eyes. "That crushing feeling in my heart became so heavy, begging was never in my nature until I knew that I couldn't leave the world like that. Knowing that I would leave you alone was much more painful then a wound, far more cruel for me to have done something so horrid like that."

She was in tears now, knowing that he loved her that much was so much to hold at once without breaking down like that. There was suffering, it was what created the balance that existed in life to main it throughout the entire course of one's existence--so why did it have to be so harsh like that? Somehow, life itself was a complicated thing compare to anything else that would never make sense--life should be under the definition of 'complicated' on a dictionary.

"I've made you cry." He touched the tear that was ready to spill on his face. "I'm sorry about that, but I promise to never leave you ever again in my life. No matter what it takes."

"Mm." She smiled at him and kissed him.

He pulled her down to him, deepened the kiss more and more until he couldn't allow himself to breath and think. Why had she become the only woman who could affect him so much? That raw and fitting power, that unique talent and look about Karin was nearly impossible to pass at all. Toushiro had been attracted to her long before he noticed, long before knowing that their little meeting by the road had painted a path to their fated lives to reunite again, and then become on whole.

Allowing those feelings to explode, to swallow them like a rapid crashing wave against the rocky cliffs--it was a power that could not be replaced by anything else.

Their love was like the rest that had blossomed over the past 14 years, allowing a new wave of destinies to pop up suddenly between the shinigamis. It was like a sudden turn of the century, a wave of changes brought upon a civilization that existed almost in secret. New lives were built, created and re-created during the transcending years since that war. Everyone changed, whether they accepted it or not, their ideals and beliefs changed drastically without a warning.

"Toushiro?" She whispered his name. As the two laid in their bed.

"Yes?" He opened his eyes, looking at the ceiling.

"We should start dinner." Karin chuckled softly, throwing her arms around him and kissing his cheek. "Come on, before our children starve when they come home."

He sighed as she slid away from the bed, taking one of the bed sheets and heard the door of the bathroom close with a click.

"You're making me cook." Toushiro grumbled as he got up.

"Of course, a husband is supposed to help you know." She called from the other side of the door. "Besides, I'll like to see you cook--something I've longed for." The smiling undertone of her voice was hard to miss, he scowled.

"You make me suffer." He could not help but chuckle, it was true in a weird way.

She laughed out loud from the bathroom, while he laughed at himself too because sometimes it was hard to explain their strange relationship. It was a good relationship though.

+---+

Karin had been gone off to the real world to take care of some family business--Ichigo and Yuzu had left as well because their father had demanded their presence. That is why, Toushiro was left behind to take care of his son and daughter while their mother was away for whatever reason it was. The sun was beating down upon their house, the warm weather was welcoming after the long weeks of winter and cold weather.

"Otousan, can I go visit Takehiko. We promised Renji-san to help him with watching over the squad." His son asked, his turquoise eyes glistening with hope it was so hard not to say no. "Please, we'll be responsible and won't cause trouble."

Toushiro ruffled his son's white straight hair. "Go, but don't cause your havoc. Behave."

"Yes, yes. I know." Tatsuya expressed. "Kaasan will ground me for sure, and I won't like that."

The white haired captain could not help but smile, surely his son was very much aware of the situation regarding the consequences of trouble. Tatsuya was well behaved, for the most part, and he sometimes worried over his son being constantly bullied for no reason. Though, there was nothing to worry about for the fact that he was a smart child, and could take care for himself.

"Pa…pa." Yuri giggled as she spoke. Her own teal eyes stared with awe at him. She was simply a few months old, but again, children were never normal like human children.

She was a beautiful baby, her dark hair shinned relentlessly with the sun light as her teal eyes never allowing any pain to come to them--she was a tough girl like her mother. He smiled softly at his daughter, picking her up from the floor and walking to the kitchen--that look was also the one that stated that she was hungry.

A baby wasn't as hard that everyone believed, well not that Toushiro's children were actually normal to begin with because they matured awfully faster; though it could be said as well for Kurosaki Kazuki and Amaya. Yuri giggled as she put her small baby hand on her father's face, even though she didn't know much about anything, seeing her father smile at her was warming.

"Pa…ple." Yuri giggled again, as she watched Toushiro cut the apple into pieces.

"Your favourite, I'm sure." He smirked at his daughter, picking up the large watermelon that had been delivered to the house. "I prefer watermelon, I'll let you have some."

Despite the fact that his love for watermelons had been kept a secret for so long, no one found it surprising to see him go shopping for his favourite fruit at the local market, and no one made comments. Toushiro cut up the watermelon, and handed Yuri the bowl of apples and a piece of the delicious looking watermelon for her to eat before he would start making dinner.

Parent lifestyle surely seemed complicated from the outside, which it really was, but it was practical in some sense because it was easier to avoid unwanted attention from the outsiders. Some people still found it very much strange that a captain, one who was always frigid and extremely private, had manage to father two children over so many years since he had become a captain.

A huge responsibility arouse from becoming a parent, always staying on guard, always being careful not to slip up, and showing sides that no one else was allowed to see. For Toushiro, parenting was nothing compare to other accomplishments, parenting made him feel more aware of the surroundings that were present in front of him. He was tickled by the idea in the beginning, but he did not care so much over personal opinions of others caring about his parenting skills.

"Ow, Yuu. Stop it!" He heard Hisagi come inside the house.

"Chan, chan!" The small boy seemed to be pulling on his father's head.

The family coming and going was normal, now that is. Hitsugaya did not complain against that at all, mainly because there were a lot of fascinating things that took place with his nieces and nephews. It seemed that young Yuu looked irritated, pulling on his father's hair only indicated that he either hated the trip, or disliked being away from his mother.

"Hitsugaya, do you know when they will return? Ow!" Hisagi attempted to sat his son down, but it was useless as he was now holding tightly onto him. "I'm going to go bald here before Yuzu returns, and I can't tell whether he has a mother or father complex."

"No, Karin said it wouldn't take long." He answered, as him and his daughter watched the father and son show. Tugging, pulling, cringing--it seemed that bits of dark hair were falling onto the ground as the small boy continued to tug.

"They better not, I don't know if I can handle being tugged by Yuu any longer.." The dark haired shinigami grumbled, as he sat his son down on the ground.

Toushiro allowed Yuri to crawl on the ground, immediately Yuu started to play with the baby and they crawled to the middle of the sitting room from where their fathers watched over them carefully.

The afternoon was winding down, the sun carefully sinking over the horizon line as the moon seemed to slowly appear on the darkening sky. The bright orange colours looked like the foliage of autumn, so bright and soft as the golden light danced across the surfaces of Soul Society. Both shinigamis sat there, their children sleep on a futon inside the room, the wind was soft as it brushed against them.

"That was a long day, stupid old man." Karin's voice came, her and the rest of the Kurosaki siblings walking besides her.

"If I knew he only wanted me for that, I wouldn't have bother to take a day off." Ichigo seemed a bit irritated.

"Come on, Karin-chan, Ichi-nii. We haven't seen him in so long now." Yuzu was the only one that ever worried about their father.

"He can take care of himself, besides Urahara-san keeps an eye on him." The door opened, and the three entered the house. "Oh, Toushiro and Hisagi."

All of them greeted each other, Rukia and the rest of the family were called to have dinner at the house. Hitsugaya felt like this was supposed to be what a family was like, unlike the one he had when he had lived in Rukongai, and nothing could compare to that poor life at all.

He was thankful, thankful for knowing that there would always be someone who supported him, someone to be there on a time for need, and everything that was supposed to be a true family. The warm atmosphere hadn't been accepted entirely by him in the beginning, it took a few years to get used to the idea that Karin loved her family despite of how bizarre it was.

Late at night, once everyone had left, Toushiro laid in bed after putting Yuri to sleep. He was attempting to read some book, but he was having no luck on concentrating on the content because it seemed like everything in it was written in gibberish, and he was unable to understand any of it.

"Your brain will fry one day." Karin commented as she took her spot on the bed.

He laid the book down to turn off the lamp, tiredness surely was taking him deeply lately. Karin wrapped her arms around him, feeling warm coming from his body despite the fact that she was not cold at all.

Today she had realized that Toushiro was the only person in the world that could make her feel other emotions, some that perhaps wouldn't exist if she hadn't met him and married him. Realizing that alone, her heart would only belong to him and long for him while being away, being able to know that he was always there to make her happy. It was weird, sure, due to the fact that she had never thought that a happy life like it was at the moment would exist at all.

Knowing that she would come home, see him waiting for her in their sitting room while holding their baby and their son laying on the floor; it was always a good feeling. Was that supposed to be considered a happy and comforting life? To be welcomed home with smiles, hugs, kisses--to always feel so warm by knowing that people needed her.

She knew it was, though sometimes she wondered if it was alright--to know that a lot of people had been hurt during the process of her happiness--but hadn't it be the same as her brother? Perhaps, perhaps not, but frankly it was better not knowing or worrying. Karin wrapped her arms tighter around Toushiro, smelling his scent and closing her eyes to sleep.

+---+

The office of the captain of the 10th squad was filled with gifts, a lot of gifts and it seemed to only get worse throughout the entire day because Hitsugaya's son was having his birthday today. Five years past, his first son had come into the world and brought him happiness. Everyone seemed to celebrate the birth of a child coming from their captains, to allow the spirit to flow freely in the air because it was actually a happy atmosphere. A blessing to them because their captains were able to produce more strong shinigamis, the future of Soul Society was literally in their hands, and so, they were glad to celebrate Tatsuya's birthday.

"Taichou, I brought my own present." Matsumoto entered the room, with a large box on her hands. He dared not ask what was in it, afraid that something crazy was inside it due to the fact that his fukutaichou was a strange one.

"Put it somewhere, this things need to be deliver at home. I can't do work with all of these gifts around." Hitsugaya stated irritably. Sure, celebrating was just fine by him, but the presents were growing in numbers.

"Taichou, another delivery." A shinigami stepped inside, dropping yet another box in the middle of the room.

So, that's what Ichigo had meant about the absurdity of celebrating a birthday in the office, and surely Toushiro knew not to celebrate it in the first place. Though, it was his son and he loved him very much to do something so horrid as that, so he put up front his best by not being annoyed by the mountains of presents in front of him.

"So exciting, Tatsuya-chan is going to be five." Matsumoto piped suddenly, clapping her hands together as she sat on the couch. "He's going to be a mini taichou, so cute."

"Matsumoto, get to work before I strip you off your position." He looked at the strawberry blond shinigami, her blue eyes holding those fake tears he never fell for at all. Why was everyone so clingy and giddy, it was becoming an eyesore seeing everyone smile at him. Even strangers. "Today."

Matsumoto pouted, but got to work because that threat never sounded pretty at all. She hated work and loved being lazy, a little too much of both surely made it impossible to deal with a lot of things. Though, she held a great respect for her captain, and did what she was told to do for today.

In the 6th division, they were also having a problem with the office being clogged up with mountains of presents. Kuchiki Byakuya eyed the glimmering boxes, unable to find a reason why it was so important to deliver the presents here instead of their home. Though, his fukutaichou was just as stressed, perhaps even more compare to the usual things, and surprisingly she was no complaining at all.

"Hitsugaya-fukutaichou." A woman entered the room suddenly.

His eyes focused on the shinigami, he had never seen her before at all, so she must have been a new recruit that his fukutaichou had been talking about for the past few days non-stop. The woman's hair was cut on a pixie style, brown with what looked to be blue highlights of some sort. Her piercing golden eyes were like that of a cat, bright and narrowed directly in the light--they were captivating and there was something mysterious about the woman.

Byakuya shook his head, he must never allow himself to look upon a woman like that because his heart would always belong to his beloved Hisana. Though, he could not help but continue to observe the woman's appearance. She looked like the type that belonged to 11th division, rough with small scars in her bare arms, someone who did not belong on the gentle side of the Gotei 13. She was normal on height, perhaps a little shorter then Hitsugaya Karin, but looked very strong.

"Ah, Yagami Mika." Karin stood up. The other shinigami bowed.

"I hope I'm not disturbing, you did say to come here once I got the chance." She smiled at her, and then turned her attention to the dark raven haired man. "Ah, Kuchiki-taichou. I am terribly sorry for my intrusion like this, my apologies."

Byakuya said nothing, simply nodding at her acknowledgement and then standing up abruptly while taking a folder on his hands. The woman's presence was becoming a bit too tiring, the prolonging stare she was giving him was too intense, and something about her made him feel a bit too strange.

"I'll deliver this to 1st squad. Yamamoto-soutaichou wanted these files immediately. I'll leave the squad in your hair Hitsugaya." He walked like a noble, not much noise was made at all as he disappeared down the hall without looking back.

Why was he allowing a single stare like that affect him? Had he become so weak against anyone in the past few years already? He was being careless again, but that wouldn't happen again after he swore that he would never break the rules again, and to follow his promises. Somehow, everything lately had become so--so strangely fused with the changes that were taking place. Surely, Byakuya knew that it was bad to let one's guard down, but what about his adopted sister?

Rukia had never being a noble from the beginning, only adapting her life into that role as a Kuchiki, but never fully accepting much responsibility for it at all. No, she had gone out of her way to fall in love with a human, having that human rescue her countless of times and becoming some hero. It seemed like a great love story, but it was nothing of the sort from his point of view at all because they had endure a lot of whispering from the beginning of their proclaimed relationship.

After that took place, the marriage between Rukia and Ichigo was viewed as the most noble thing to have been done. That orange haired child had taken upon his responsibility of becoming a shinigami, a captain, a husband, a father, and at last--the head of his own noble clan as well. Byakuya no longer cared so much about it anymore, it was better accepting the reality instead of spending countless of nights plotting of a way to kick that boy out, and besides that Rukia might hate him entirely.

Suddenly that had become a shock, but then having Hitsugaya Toushiro fall in love with another human was entirely another case as well. They had gone thru that ordeal as well, only a few years ago that had been fixed and turned into another love story tale that all young shinigamis could not help but admire. Even his former fukutaichou had done the same thing, though in his case, the woman that was connected to Kurosaki Ichigo in the past, had died. So, that hadn't being such special case at all, but it was still considered a great story.

"Kuchiki-taichou!" He heard his name being called, but he ignored it. He was busy, interruptions were futile and it was surely nothing to be worried about. "Wait up."

"What is it?" Byakuya stopped abruptly, but keeping his back to whoever it was that called his name.

"Y-you…you're impossible." Yagami Mika stopped besides him, bending forward with her palms on her knees for support as she tried to catch her breath. "I-I…you…you're fast! Damn, I never thought I seriously needed to do a whole fifteen mile running for an entire month."

"Tell me what is so important. I have no desire to listen to your personal complains." His tone was monotone, making that sound a little bit more harsher then it needed to be.

Mika sighed, standing back up and looking at the tall captain besides her. She was always captivated by him, even though she did not know him so well, he was very smooth in person. Like a god that stood on a precipice looking down upon the ground and waiting to give out orders--he was really enchanting it was nearly impossible to speak in his presence.

"Is it alright if I joined the squad? I've showed Hitsugaya-fukutaichou my abilities and everything." She said, her golden eyes holding that hopeful look as he looked down at her. "I-I know that I look like someone that belongs to a rough squad, but I'm nothing of the sort. Becoming a member of the 6th squad has been my dream after my sister told me that it would never happen, but that isn't really much of a reason at all." She took a deep breath, Mika was speaking so fast. "My devotion will only be focused on becoming an elite member of your squad, and to protect what we are set out to protect by joining the Gotei 13."

He looked at her curiously, that look was so similar to someone who really had good intentions, but this was affecting him so greatly because he was becoming so bothered by the strange presence of the woman. She was so--Byakuya couldn't even think of a proper way to describe the feeling that was deep inside of him. No, he wouldn't allow himself to think of another woman, because he wouldn't dare to betray Hisana's love for anything at all.

"There are others who want that, so you'll have to work harder to gain the spot." He continued to walk, not allowing to become annoyed by that woman at all. He couldn't join the bandwagon of new romances in Soul Society, after all, he was Kuchiki Byakuya--captain of the 6th squad and the head of the Kuchiki noble family.

Allowing emotions to over rule his thinking, it was improper and not the type of thing he would do, because he could never fall in love with another woman at all.

+---+

A birthday party in the Hitsugaya household had been very stressful as tons of people had come to wish Tatsuya a happy birthday. All of the captains had come, Ukitake-taichou being the one who was very much cheerful and had given candy to the boy. Except, Tatsuya loved candy like no other and did not complain about the gift at all. After all, there were three white haired shinigamis in Soul Society that people needed to take notice of it.

"Great party." Ichigo commented, taking a sip of his tea.

"I never thought Nii-sama would come for this type of thing." Rukia commented as she laid her cup down. "The kids look like they're enjoying this, too."

"As always, Yuzu you cook amazing food." Hisagi looked at his wife, as they were feeding their twins.

"Thank you, I tried." She smiled, while feeding some food to Hotaru.

The merry atmosphere was so vivid, welcoming as everyone sang 'Happy Birthday' to Tatsuya, and watching him blow out the small five candles that were in place on the large cake in front of him. No one really celebrated birthdays in Soul Society like anyone would in the real world--they were simply small engagements that were treated more like gatherings. So, a birthday party had been a different costume that had been brought back again.

Not many traditions were fully accepted in the beginning, but having shinigamis go back and forth in the two dimensions seemed to make a slight change on that. Old traditions were changed into new ones, some were thrown out because they counted, and the older ones were kept. It was all based on the balance.

The adults had their fun on their own, passing the sake around was a past time and not a party thing. Karin failed to understand that part, though there really wasn't anything to gain from understanding that at all. At least, Tatsuya had a good fifth birthday and was very happy about that.

"Leave it for the maids to do it." Toushiro was leaning against the door frame of the large room.

"I don't like acting like Karin-sama you know." She muttered, looking at him and folding her arms across her chest. "Fine, I'll let them do their job then."

He sighed, pushing himself away from the frame and walking towards his wife, while she worked hard to glare at him. Of course, living under the whole nobility thing was hard because no one could easily accustomed themselves to that lifestyle over night, and Karin obviously never wanted to work for it. She was always rash about it, pushing it aside because she didn't believe it would make a difference at all. She believed nobility was a boring thing, having to appear to meetings and behaving well--that was a hindrance for her.

Toushiro, himself couldn't stand it either because it was too bothersome. Marrying into nobility had not being in the future for the two of them, it was one of those things that came out of no where suddenly without a warning. Also, it had become an obstacle to overcome due to adversity, how everyone treated them after becoming nobles--Karin hadn't enjoyed the special treatment at all. Of course, she would simply spat at the title each time she was asked by others--pushing it aside was easier to handle.

"I don't want you to get angry, but you look tired." He looked down at her. Those dark eyes were so enchanting, holding that spark that was impossible to draw one's self away from.

"Ugh, I just don't enjoy to have them around at all." She pouted, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her head on his chest. "Guess they have to become useful one of these days, eh?"

Toushiro put his chin on top of her head, the sweet smell of her shampoo and her natural scent to be breathed in by his lungs. Naturally, he could never stay away from her at all because it was impossible to be away from her. To draw himself away from her was also impossible, Karin always managed to pull him back without using anything in her power--it was natural.

"Did you put Yuri to sleep?" She asked suddenly, looking up at him.

"Yeah, Tatsuya offered to help." He smiled at her, stroking her cheek with his fingers and allowing himself to be indulged by her scent.

Karin was dangerous, he knew that much, though no one could help themselves to be drawn by whatever personality she showed in front of others.

"I'm glad." She groaned, feeling so relaxed by the icy feeling that her husband was giving out. "I'm going to hate work tomorrow--Kuchiki-taichou is on a vendetta or something after the office was flooded with presents. And, there's the Yagami Mika problem too."

"Yagami Mika?"

"Ah, yeah. She wants to join 6th division--except that Kuchiki-taichou told her no."

Surely something was strange like that, well allowing shinigamis to join their divisions was a long process. Proving one's strength and will was important, to have a pure heart and knowing that they were devoting their lives to protect Soul Society was a hard choice. Though, there were a few that did join them with good intentions at heart, swearing to protect and follow orders. Knowing that shinigamis like that existed was excellent, so he found Kuchiki Byakuya's choice a bit weird.

There could have been a million things to change one's opinion over something, but Hitsugaya wasn't about to go and stick his nose on something that wasn't worth it, and it was none of his business. His wife easily found a way to meddle in people's business, at least she was discreet about it and hopefully wouldn't go far into it because there was no way they could afford to start in another gossip in Soul Society. Those things never faired well, or brought anything good at all.

"Don't get so worked up about it though." He commented as they laid in bed, both staring at the ceiling without really feeling the need to sleep early.

"Working on that. A meteor needs to crash in order that to happen, meaning never." She sighed. Somehow, the way Kuchiki Byakuya was getting so worked up seemed strange--so perhaps there was an underlining reason as to why he wasn't very fond of her. Karin gave up though, it was far too bothersome to worry about it.

Perhaps her husband was right, getting worked up about something as silly as that would do nothing in return, only it would bring trouble for the most part, and she was pulling herself out of it for good now.

+---+

As the rest of the small band of shinigamis had killed off the last Hollow, Hitsugaya closed his eyes while trying to release some of the tension that had been building up. It was tiring bringing new shinigamis out into the battlefield, though it hadn't really being something to consider it as being a huge case, but he did no like taking part in those things. Except, as a captain, it was his duty to oversee his squad members and view their strength, their capability to keep up with their surroundings and to create a better squad.

A few had slipped, mistakes were obviously made, and some weren't even made to come out to fight at all. A report awaited him patiently on his desk once going back, and he really was no looking forward on spending an entire long night again in the office.

"Taichou, are we ready?" Matsumoto called him back to reality.

"Is everyone here?" He asked, looking over at the shinigamis that had come with him. "Lets head back. Some of you already know what's going to happen, so don't bother questioning until tomorrow. Lets go."

"Hai!" They all chorused as the gate open.

Hueco Mundo had been kept under control recently, having Nel watch over it and take care of it had been a good thing for Soul Society, because they managed to stay out of it. A few things had occur over the past five years, but nothing that anyone needed to worry about. There were at least 4 shinigami station in the real world, they watched over Karakura still and kept an eye for whatever danger would come suddenly to them.

Peacefulness still continued its reign strongly, a few scuffles had broken out between squads, but it hadn't been something new at all. There had been some talks recently of Yamamoto-soutaichou wanting to remove himself from being the commander of the Gotei 13--that was the only thing that had been slightly strange.

That alone made everyone become worried, the unknown royalty had been wanting him to join their secret guard making it seem strange. No one knew about them, though everyone simply called them the Imperial Guard--no one really could come up with a different title at all. So, now there were many talks as to who would be promoted to become the Commander, the one who held a very high position in Soul Society, though no one had a single clue as to who it was.

Hitsugaya believed that either Ukitake or Kyoraku would replace him, since they had been the oldest shinigamis that had been in the Gotei 13 since it had started. They were honourable shinigamis, strong willed and very civil about what went inside. Though, he doubted that the 8th squad captain would want that job, it was much more responsibility to become the one who made very crucial decisions during the hard times--even Hitsugaya felt that he could never take upon that job in his entire existence at all.

The position he had was enough, becoming someone higher on the food chain would never be good at all, plus, he didn't want to be locked up in an office for the rest of his life. At least, doing paperwork kept him busy without worrying about making life and death matter decisions at all--being the captain of the 10th squad was enough work. Along with that, he was a father and a husband, so those roles along with becoming a commander would never work out so well.

"You're thinking too much again." Karin entered the office, holding Yuri on her arms as she giggled and buried her face on Karin's hair.

"Is that illegal now? What is it that you want?" He looked at his wife and daughter. Smiling as his daughter stretched out her arms for him to take her. "Oh, what's with her now?"

His wife shrugged, a smirk playing on her face as she went around on his desk and took a seat on it. "I don't know, she's being all giddy. So, what kind of sh--stuff were you thinking about now?"

The way she changed her tone confused Toushiro, but he could understand because he also seemed to choke up a bit on his expressions and tones. He sat back down, as Yuri played with a plush dog that her uncle Ichigo had given her.

"The talks about Yamamoto-soutaichou wanting to retire." He replied, looking at her. "Everyone is wondering who would be willing to replace him."

"Oh, that." She shooed it away with a wave of her hand. Karin wasn't the one to worry about those details, surely someone like Ukitake-taichou would be the one to work along with that role, but there was the case that he was a very sick person. So, who else could fit on that role. "I don't think he would really want that, there's no one who would be willing to take upon that responsibility."

That was correct, the white haired shinigami knew that much. Everyone had their good and bad points, so there were a lot of conflicting problems with the replacement like that. Toushiro did not want that role, he would refuse to take it or being made to think about it, that was a no.

"As long as I don't get it." He muttered. Yuri's eyes gazed intensely at his, she was very much intriguing. "I wouldn't want to take that role, being the captain of this squad is already hard enough. Plus, adding that I'm married and I have children, that makes the choice a bit more harder. Someone like Kuchiki Byakuya or Ukitake-taichou would be fitting for that role, but not me."

The dark haired shinigami understood her husband because she just had had that conversation with her sister-in-law, surely that was a hard topic to think about because of how affected everyone would be. Though, she doubted that those rumours were actually true in the first place--the Commander himself hadn't had said anything about that at all to anyone. Perhaps it would be brushed aside on another meeting, or at least be explained if it was true.

"I forgot why I came here." She changed the subject suddenly. "I was talking to Ichi-nii earlier today, and he was thinking that we should go to the real world to visit that goat chin. And, its been a while since we've been there."

He wouldn't deny that at all, especially since his children would probably want to see their grandfather. He could not refuse it at all, it was for the sake of his children mainly. "I see." Was all he manage to say.

"Is that all you can say?" She arched her eyebrow at him, looking at her husband and then shaking her head while smiling. "Never mind it. Ichi-nii says that he's going tomorrow, since Yuzu and Hisagi already went today. I said that we would go on our own time, so its up to you really."

Again, Toushiro could not deny it as his own daughter was giving him the puppy eyes, the thing that he couldn't resist at all. Sighing in defeat, he agreed.

"Fine, I'm sure Tatsuya would want to visit the real world." He stated, while he gave Yuri back to her mother.

"Well, actually. These two already went." Karin pointed out. "So, I thought that maybe the two of us should go. I'll like to pay a visit to--well you know."

Talking about her mother was hard, she had a hard time still talking about the mother that she barely knew, but would never stop loving at all. Though, Karin would never talk about it at all, unless it was necessary--and was thankful that Toushiro was never the one to pry on that part of her life.

"I see, I'll accompany you then." He gave her that special smile, only the one for her that no one else was allowed to see.

"Thank you." She kissed him, and waved as her and Yuri left the office.

It would be the first time that which she would include him on that little circle, the only place that no one would ever step onto because of how private it was. Karin would share some of that hidden pain, the one that she believed to be weak and unnecessary to carry on.

* * *

_It is 12:37 am on my country--I am tired, hadn't had much sleep from the previous day. I am beat, but here's this super long chapter. I'm listening to 'Tokyo Shounen' by my new favourite band, Nightmare, to stay awake to write this. Thank you for the reviews, story favourites, and all the other good stuff. I'll like to thank **SmilingPasta** and **NinaRose475** for the favourites, thank you so much. **Anime Lover 152** for alerting. _

_+Tsukihime Nee- 'Really? Wicked! I love the name too XD. Though, 'Amaya' has that special place lol. Thanks for the review too. Hope that your holidays were good :). Hope that you also enjoyed this chapter!'_

_+happygirl24- 'Yay, I'm glad that you liked it XD. And, I know. I did add something on this chapter about that, but I don't think that I'll go more into that, so my apologies for that. Hope that you enjoyed this long chapter.'_

_+WatermelonPrincess- 'Thank you, glad that you liked it. How was your Christmas? Well, I could have done without some stuff, but it was good. Hope that you liked this chapter--it was a long one lol.'_

_Phew. Okay. Well, this chapter was long because there's a purpose for it. After all the crap that Karin and Toushiro went thru, I believed it was time for them to have a little bit of peace in their lives now. Surely, pure peace can't possibly exist because of how life needs to be balanced out. So, this chapter showed a bit of different things that have taken place after that whole thing with Inoue and such, so they are living a little bit of a 'happily ever after' life. I wanted to go farther in time to show their children, but that lead me no where because it seemed to only end up being like a 2nd generation type of story, so I didn't want that. So, I kept it in a short time line again. A lot of things happen, which most will go mostly likely unexplained--I'll like to leave it open for anyone to think of what could happen and such. And, NO. Its not the ending yet, sadly chapter 20 is going to be the very last chapter. If your lost or confused, simply ask and your questions will be answered. I took enough time from everyone by reading this, so you know what to do. Review! early Happy New Year to everyone. Hopefully '09 will be much better--and perhaps I shall start working on another story soon. See you everyone in 2009, and with the ending to this story as well!!!! _(^.^)_!!  
_


	20. Who We Are

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. Its a brand new year, my evil plans shall continue! MUAHAHAHAHA!

* * *

**The Bridge Of Silence**

+---+

+Who We Are+

'_There's no such thing as fairytale endings_

_Only those endings that were created by us.'_

+---+

The bright blue sky of Karakura looked peaceful, the scattered clouds hung lowly on the city as it seemed that another rainy day awaited the city. The smell of summer was present, the wildflowers spilling out their delicious sweet smell, while the cicadas made their loud noise as it always did. It seemed like a perfect day, though it was none of the sort as a hole suddenly opened in the sky and a monster stepped out. The screeching scream from the Hollow resounded across the sky, a few more stepped out of the hole and it closed.

The sound of a sword cutting thru flesh came suddenly, like a bolt of lightening on a dark clouded sky, making the beast decimate in thin air. The residents of the town saw nothing, they went unbothered by the invisible beings that existed, and there were only a few who were able to see them. A bright blue flash cut thru the air, glowing brightly despite the bright day.

"This isn't so challenging." A tall orange haired young man appeared, as he held onto the hilt of his katana. "Honestly, this was too easy."

"You don't say. Boring." A dark haired young man replied, as the two landed on the rooftop of a building.

"Damn, that was nothing. I didn't even use my zanpaktou." A orange haired girl joined them, she danced towards the two boys.

The three teens stood there for a few minutes, the wind brushing against them as they waited for another hole to appear on the blue sky. The silence falling upon them like rain, clinging tightly without mercy and it would be nearly impossible to break it as it had become like a hard shell.

The balance had to be kept in the world, the order that which allowed that balance to exist was important, because without balance and the order there would be peril in the world. Perhaps, the existence to the world would not continue at all, it would fall into a chaotic state.

The two orange haired teens wore black shinigami robes, they looked almost identical despite the age difference, as their swords hung on their back being held by a red strap. Their amber eyes scanning the area, their minds focused on any single burst of spiritual energy that would suddenly come--but it would only seemed like a waste of waiting there.

The other boy was dressed plainly, a black dress shirt and blue jeans--nothing special as he had just gotten out of a meeting that he had attended with his parents. His dark hair shinning underneath the sunlight, bright like an onyx rock, smooth and soft it looked. His piercing blue eyes scanning as well like the two besides him, but it was becoming boring for him.

"Kazuki, Amaya, and Hiroki." Ichigo appeared suddenly, his youngest child following behind him along with his nephew. "Yourichi is going to kill the lot of you, and you kids--your mother is going to kill you for going off like that without our permission." He was looking directly at his teenage children.

"Aw, come on. Kaasan just finds an excuse for us to never leave her sight." Kazuki complained. The scowl on his face furrowed more, if that was possible since it was permanent like his father's. "It was easy, we didn't even have to use our shinkai at all."

Ichigo shook his head, impossible to deal with his children now that they were old enough to be on their own, but for the sake of his wife he brought himself to put some rules on them. Parenting couldn't get worse, dealing with the angst of the teenage years was better when he had witnessed Karin go through it without complaints at all. Unlike her, Kazuki and Amaya were immensely influenced by him, which had been a bad thing from the start, but they were extremely responsible. That didn't help with the whole punishment thing, it went the same for Tatsuya, who seemed very immerse on something else, and for Koji--even for a young age.

"I don't have time to argue, so get going. Hirako, go back to Ishida. He's pretty pissed off." The orange haired captain scratched his orange locks. "Come on, your mother is going to ground you."

Both teenagers dropped their mouths open, their mother was the one that dealt with the harsher punishments unlike their father--she was very harsh towards them. Grounding consisted of no training, no visitations to any squad, no anything at all that would satisfy their entertainment. Being locked inside the Kuchiki mansion, spending countless of hours doing calligraphy with their uncle--none of it was fun--but they were responsible enough to take care of it.

Complaining never ended up well, whining only resorted on getting more punishment, and simply going with it would be rewarding in the end with great things. So, Kazuki and Amaya followed their father back to the Urahara Shop, where their mother awaited for them along with their trainer, Yourichi.

"This is bad." Kazuki expressed.

"You don't say." Amaya commented, rolling her eyes.

+---+

"Mother, Father. I'm home." Abarai Takehiko entered their home, his baby twin sisters following behind him.

Almost all of the rooms were empty, no sign of anyone around at all--and no spiritual pressure seemed to be felt at all. The maroon haired teenager sighed, picking up his little sisters and sitting them up on the kitchen counter to clean their wounds on their knees.

"Nii-chan, Mommy and Daddy are going to ground you." Hikari smiled at him, as he cleaned her wound first.

"Really, well it was the two of you who started it." Takehiko complained, rolling his eyes. "I told you not to follow me, but no. Stupid little brats, following me isn't going to get the two of you anywhere at all. Ikkaku takes the training sessions seriously, did you two idiots thought he wouldn't?" Obviously, that was a very bad thing to have done in the first place.

"Nii-chan, we just wanted to know what it felt like sparring with him." Haruki explained, she being the smart one. "I tell Mom and Dad about it, I'm sure you wouldn't get in so much trouble."

They were ten, Hikari was too childish and almost like Yachiru from 11th division, but she was very clumsy. Unlike her, Haruki was the one who made the safer choices, though he doubted that he could call sparring with a strong shinigami a safe choice. Still, both of them were too troublesome along with Yuu and Hotaru--even though they were less troublesome.

He disliked the two, surely being a fifteen year old teenager was complicated enough, dealing with so many issues was so hard. Adding the two troublesome sisters, the whole equation was out of balance and getting ready to collapse, but he didn't want to see any of it at all. He proved himself many times, becoming strong to protect his two little sisters along with his friends, but it was sometimes too much.

Tatsuki and Renji had a stable home, both busy during the day, but not the entire day as they made time for their children. Respected shinigami, respected members of the Gotei 13 and they were very well honoured around the entire Soul Society. There was no one who didn't know them, the strong shinigamis that could be counted on for protection. They were great shinigamis, but they were great parents first.

"Renji, he almost kicked your ass." Tatsuki's voice came from the other side of the door. Takehiko froze on the spot, while the twins allowed their jaws to drop.

"No need for reminders, really." Renji answered, as he opened the door. "Takehiko, Hikari, Haruko--what are you three do--what the hell happen?"

Tatsuki turned to see the scrapes and scratches on her daughters, they looked like they had gotten up pretty badly, but who? She cross the room to the kitchen, examining the scrapes on their knees before allowing her eyes to look up at the two little twins.

"Well damn, Renji our daughters just had their first sparring session." She shook her head while grinning. "Takehiko, did you witness it? Don't tell me that Madarame did it."

"Actually, it was him and Yumichika. They were both in a good mood, so these idiots decided to spar." He pointed at the little girls. "I swear, I'm going to stop going there and go find Hisagi-fukutaichou and Kira-fukutaichou."

The twins rolled their eyes, making a vomiting motion at the sound of those names. Somehow, everyone hated to spar with the two because no one liked their strange attacks, always coming like they knew the next move. Obviously, Takehiko knew that his friends, Kazuki and Tatsuya had fallen into the trap of their uncle and his friend. It was a nasty fight, but then again, the three of them loved a good fight that would be to their heart's content.

Renji and Tatsuki smiled at each other, their children were wonderful and they wouldn't ask for anything more. Their children were exceptionally good kids, most of the time staying out of major trouble that would surely get them grounded, but they were still children that dealt with the whole growing up issues. They understood that Takehiko was the one who had it worse, dealing with the teenage life surely was not something pretty at all, and then having to deal with a lot of things from the academy.

Ten years after that strange fall out from Inoue Orihime, everyone moved on without looking back upon that day anymore. Everything was buried off somewhere, only the best times were the ones that deserved to be put on a picture frame to be showed off, it was peaceful. No one worried so much anymore, no one bothered to talk about that past and the enemies. That was their long history, something buried at the back of dusty books; the ones that no one would ever bother to read.

"I'll clean them up." Renji offered, taking the cotton ball from his son's hands. "Help your mother with dinner. Little ladies, you're both very much grounded for the entire week."

"Dad!" The two whined, as they were picked up by the red headed shinigami while he carried them to another room.

"Too troublesome." Takehiko shook his head. Picking up a bowl, and some stuff for dinner.

"That it is, but we make it alright." Tatsuki smiled at her son.

Even if nothing was perfect, and she doubted that it would ever be, life was alright without having to worry about the little things. They made it by without complaints, without wishing to have another life, and without regrets. Life was simple, nothing more or less.

+---+

Starring at papers with numbers and words was like attempting to read code messages--complicated and very boring to look at. Yuu scratched his head, his dark long locks falling all over his face, while blocking his dark brown eyes from the paper in his hands. Doing work in the library beat the cooking lessons from his mother, and avoiding his extremely brutish sister. At least, Hotaru was stuck in the 11th division doing something instead of annoying him, and he really did not feel like thinking about it any longer.

He stared and stared, nothing would come out of it at all and the day was slowly turning darker as the sun would soon disappear. Working for Ukitake-taichou on research was surely a very boring thing, though he liked his work despite of how much of it would be given out.

"Yuu…there you are." Yuri walked towards him with her hands crossed around her chest. "Ukitake-taichou is looking for you, and he sent me to give you the message. Also, Okaasan is having everyone at the house today before they go up to the real world tomorrow."

"Ah, I've forgotten that Karin-nee was going up there tomorrow." The young teen stood up abruptly, returning the book back to its proper shelf. "What's she cooking?"

The two walked out of the library and off to the 13th squad barracks, the sun seemed to get ready to set as the orange colours of the sky were becoming indigo as they continued walking back. Yuu had really wanted to get out of doing research because there wouldn't be anything to gain from it, only looking back at a past that was better forgotten, but he understood some of the reasons why everyone looked back in the past.

A past was what built the present, what created a life itself because of the mistakes that were made--it was simple enough to understand that much. The mistakes, mishaps, errors--they were simple words to comprehend completely--though they were hard to act upon. As Yuu looked back onto that past, he understood a bit of what his mother and everyone in his family had to face in order to get to where Soul Society was currently. Peace existed, sure, but it was a peace that everyone had to work on for so long in order to maintain it with worrying of the omniscient future.

"Ah, Yuu-kun." Ukitake-taichou stepped out of the office. "Did you get it done? I'm terribly sorry to trouble you like this."

"Yeah, its all there." Yuu smiled at the older captain. "Actually, you don't have to worry about it. Really. I don't mind at all, it was quicker today."

"I'm glad to hear that. You can go home now." He smiled at the young shinigami. "Oh, Yuri-chan. Tell Hitsugaya-kun to come visit me sometime, for tea."

Yuri smiled. "Hai, I'll tell Otousan. Good night, Ukitake-taichou."

Yuri and Yuu left quickly to get home, each wanting to know what was for dinner as each of them heard their stomach growl, demanding for food. They enjoy all the family dinners, everyone sharing and talking all the time--it was a happy moment in life. It was never dull, everyone shared stories of the day or whatever it was on their minds, the family unity was extremely strong and rare for everyone to see.

"There better be some good stuff, I'm starving." The dark haired boy said, after silence fell suddenly while they were walking towards Yuri's house.

"Aa. Okaasan said she was making something, but I didn't bother to ask." The dark haired girl shrugged. Her teal eyes were now shining under the dusky sky, they were bright and careful. "So, is that how you avoided Hotaru today?"

Hisagi Hotaru was a complicated child, a bit too rebellious for a young age, but she was a bit weak when it came to be a shinigami. She was like Yuzu in the outside, sweet and gentle, but she was extremely vicious and brutal. Always spending her time with Abarai Takehiko and their cousin, Kazuki, in 11th division doing whatever it was that the three did there. Even the Abarai twins went there for the fun, obviously watching brutish shinigami fight to death was something, though Yuu avoided that entirely.

He was a bit more reserved, friendly most of the time, but hated to use violence for no reason at all. He was a pacifist in a slight sense, only using violence when needed as his father had taught him to do along with his mother. Yuri could understand that, knowing that her aunt and uncle wouldn't like for their children to grow up to become deadly in any sort; it was better to be a bit docile in the outside.

Even though they were related, Yuri and Yuu rarely talked because they weren't the type to hang around each other for too long--it was something that no one could understand at all. They were silent most of the time, talking out loud and everything wasn't really fitting for them, so they were very mute half the time. Though, around their family members they talked normally, not too much of course because there really weren't many things to contribute to a conversation at all.

"I smell something good." He commented suddenly, as they walked closer to the house.

"Rukia-neesan is probably making that delicious pie." She smiled, as they got closer. "Race you, its been a while now."

"It has, hasn't it? Alright. Last one gives up their piece of pie." Yuu challenged his cousin.

"Heh, I'll win." Yuri stuck her tongue out, as they two raced quickly to the house.

Childish competitions were hard to pass on, mainly when there was something good to get as a prize.

+---+

Ten years had passed now, nothing outlandish had happen at all. Life in Soul Society continued to be normal, almost compare to what life was more than 50 years ago--something Hitsugaya could never complain about as he signed off his very last paper for the day. Though, he wouldn't go home just yet because there was still half a day left, so he would enjoy a cup of tea for the time being.

There really hadn't been much changes regarding all of the captain and vice-captain positions, only a few things had been changed so far. Matsumoto was no longer 10th squad's fukutaichou anymore, she had been moved to 5th, Kurosaki Rukia was moved to 6th with her brother, while Karin was moved to his squad. Those were only the few changes that had been made, aside from the personal matters that could never be pushed aside at all.

"Otousan, have you seen Okaasan?" Tatsuya entered, ruffling his straight white hair.

"I sent her to aid Ise-fukutaichou on a research observation in 12th squad." Hitsugaya replied. His son took a seat on the small couch, leaning his head back while letting out a long sigh. "Is something wrong?"

"Ah, yeah. Soi Fon-taichou has been making us work really hard." He stretched out, and groaned in satisfaction. "She's making me transfer to 5th company, something about me not being up front about my priorities or something."

Tatsuya was a recent shinigami graduate, another young prodigy that had come out of it, and he had moved up higher then expected. Being recruited by different squads was different, always being picked out first out of all the recent graduates--which made envy run deeper then anything else. He knew that being picked for good spots was because of his talent, not because he was the son of the famous prodigy and a famous strong mother.

"2nd squad is said to be complicated--mainly because of their arduous work." The white haired captain commented. "Whatever you decide, your mother and I will support you."

"Thanks, Otousan." Tatsuya jumped up from the couch. "I should get going, I was going to tell Okaasan the same thing. I'll see you tonight--better go before Soi Fon-taichou hangs me."

"See you at home." Hitsugaya smiled at his son as he left.

Even though his son was fifteen, he looked nothing but like an older person due to his actions and the way he spoke. There was so much pride that he had for his children, strong and very dependable without having to ask them to be that at all--they were very obedient for the most part at home.

Tomorrow he was going to take a trip with his wife to the real world, it seemed that she had been wanting to go for a while now to pay a visit to her father, and see how Karakura had changed over the past five years. Despite knowing that taking a day off like that would bring trouble, mainly because neither of them enjoyed spending countless of nights finishing paperwork, Toushiro was glad that his brother-in-law was always there to complete it for him.

Most of the time, it was Kurosaki Isshin who paid the visits. Karin had been willing to go, and the reason was something important for her as it always was. Toushiro wouldn't complain about going at all, making her happy was the only thing he always wanted to do for her, and so, tomorrow would be important for her. Only seeing her smile was enough for him, enough to complete part of his world along with his children.

+---+

Ichigo laid down on the couch on his office, the headache that he was having didn't seem to want to leave him at all. He was worrying a little bit too much about his children, obviously their punishment had been harsher this time around--and he didn't dare to complain at all with Rukia. After all, it had been his fault for how angry she had become lately, and mostly when she had ended up in the 4th division after falling and hitting her head.

That hadn't been the worst part, the terrible nightmare had only begun after they had being told that his wife was with child--again. Ichigo had been ecstatic to say the least, their youngest son was growing up quickly, that they rarely saw any of them. Koji was far too busy to come home from the academy, while Amaya and Kazuki were being switched from place to place. So, the house had been slightly empty for a while, but with the news of Rukia being pregnant again--he couldn't have been more happier.

The bad part was, that she hadn't been really glad about that because she could never get her work done at all since pregnancies took most of her energy away. Though, her mind had been changing lately about it as their children had become very glad about that as well, so it had been hard to avoid being unhappy about it.

"Kurosaki-taichou, still having a headache?" Hisagi entered the office, holding a tray that had two cups of tea. "I've made some tea, perhaps it might help."

The orange haired shinigami sat up, taking one of the cups and thanking the dark haired shinigami before taking a large gulp that nearly burned his throat. The hot liquid seeped inside of him, warming him a bit and making him forget the slight pounding on his head.

"Thank you. Sorry for troubling you like this, Hisagi." Ichigo said. "How's the squad doing so far on their training?"

"No trouble at all, Taichou." He answered, sipping some of his tea. "They're working, some still have problems with the stances, and some don't even know how to work with the practice swords. They have to learn kendo techniques, or else we'll have to cut more than half of the recruits."

Ichigo had forgotten about that particular part, and he wasn't happy having to cut off people just because their talent wasn't fitting for the squad at all. Surely the job of a captain was deemed as hard, complicated because it was dealt with a lot of issues that were hard to completely brush off easily, though somehow he could deal with those minor things without complaint at all.

"Alright, tomorrow I'll attend some practices and see for it myself." He finally gave in, knowing well that he was bound to practice with the squad members soon.

Sparring with them was easy, they were alright for the most part and usually kept up with all of the moves that he would use against them. Though, sometimes there were a lot of injuries, except that they weren't that serious most of the time. 9th squad had become stronger compare to the past, they could easily stand their ground without having to be told what to do, it was simply natural for them.

Training regiments had been changed over and over, usually Ichigo was the one to create it so that the squad would continue to grow stronger, to become the best that anyone had seen and to prove that they had moved away from their past. Being a captain had become one of the things that he took pride on, knowing that he had to become a leader was hard most of the time, but he could deal with it by having guidance from his superior captains that he had come to know.

"Kurosaki Ichigo!" Rukia suddenly burst into the office, fuming about whatever reason she had to fume about today. "You moron, how dare you forget to pick up our son today from the academy?"

His head was pounding rather loudly for him to actually get up, and retort back to her constant yelling that was getting on his nerves already. Koji trailed behind quietly, his raven colour haired swayed with the breeze that was coming from the open windows.

"Okaasama, that's not it." Koji protested, again. "Otousama said that he would come to see, not pick me up. I've already explain it to you."

"No, I will not hear any of it. You're making up excuses for him." She was determined to continue fuming, regardless of what their youngest son kept on saying.

"Never mind it then, I'm going to visit aunt Karin and uncle Toushiro." He disappeared quickly before wanting to witness his mother yell at his father for no reason, it was like that.

Ichigo sighed, burying his head against the pillow deeper while closing his eyes. Dealing with Rukia would take almost the entire day, she was very difficult and he couldn't stand arguing with her over something that was silly and didn't make sense at all. Rukia on the other hand, she glared at her husband and crossed her arms across her chest waiting for him to explain himself.

"Are you going to lay there all day?" She spat, tapping her foot against the woodened floor to annoy him.

"There's nothing I can do about that, so yes." He replied seriously. "I'm sorry though, I left a note specially for you this morning reminding you. I was careless, again."

Rukia looked at him, he looked worn out and extremely fragile--was she the reason for that look upon him? There was only so much to take, she hadn't been happy about having an unplanned thing to occur so suddenly, and so, the pregnancy had taken her as a surprised event. No, she didn't really didn't care about mothering another child for Ichigo, perhaps they would continue having children in the future since they had thousands of years to look forward too, but it didn't mean that she wanted to have children suddenly.

Then again, she enjoyed having small children around the house now that her three children were growing up, and moving on with their own lives as well. Knowing that they would come to whine about something, to complain, or to simply laugh about something silly--she missed that everyday. Koji was busy with the academy, he stayed in the dorms there and came home when he was free. Kazuki was busy training hard to join 5th squad, or maybe even 13th and that didn't allow him to be at home for too long. Amaya was off training as well in the real world most of the time, she came and went.

"No, I'm sorry." She suddenly said, picking up Ichigo's head from the pillow and then taking a seat so he could rest on her lap.

"It's a misunderstanding, nothing to worry about at all." He smiled, keeping his eyes closed. The sweet smell of her lavender shampoo was soothing to the senses, and it was comforting for his headache as well. "You haven't overworked yourself, have you?"

"No, Nii-sama doesn't allow me to work too hard." She ran her fingers thru his orange locks. "Its very troublesome though, annoying because he can't let me do my work right."

He chuckled softly. "He means well, nothing more. Don't get worked up over it, Byakuya only wants to make it comfortable for you."

Rukia knew it was true, but it wasn't like she was disabled or anything like that. Being treated with special care wasn't something that was dealt with easily, there were so many arguments that had been done over the past three times that which she had been pregnant; everyone cared too much. His sister-in-laws were allowed to do whatever they wanted when they were pregnant, but not for her because she was Kurosaki Rukia, a noblewoman who had to abide herself to the most respectable manners.

"I'm not disabled, you know." She expressed, looking down at her husband. His eyes opened suddenly, revealing those bright amber orbs that were captivating and mysterious.

"I'm sure everyone is aware of it. Even if you were, I doubted you would let anyone treat you like one." Ichigo sat up, pulling his wife into his lap. "Don't make it difficult for him either, he's your brother."

"Fine, if I must." Rukia gave in rather quickly, burying her face on his chest. "I'll try not to go insane, though you have about 8 months to deal with it."

"Its fine, as long as we get to welcome our child to the world." He kissed her head and laughed.

+---+

"You work extremely hard." Hisagi appeared suddenly behind Yuzu.

"I'm trying to get it done before I take my leave." She smiled as she felt his hot breath against her neck. "If you don't stop that, I'll fall asleep."

He let her go and stood besides her, watching her look thru all the files that she was putting on folders, and organizing them by ascending order. Yuzu was always the one to take care of everything, silently doing work without complaint, and making the office looked extremely clean and welcoming. Those types of skills weren't very common, no one would take their time to clean the office when there was tons of paperwork to get done, or sometimes there was not enough time in the day to do something like that.

The amazing things that took place in life, the changes that created good things most of the time were better; it was a small cause that would make the past become forgotten. Burying a lot of things had helped to overcome the adversity, to move away from that painful past and the painful memories, and with Yuzu there were a lot of happy memories that had been built. She was an amazing woman, strong unlike anyone else, truthful and compassionate.

"Karin and Hitsugaya-san are going to the real world tomorrow, are you watching Tatsuya and Yuri?" He asked, trying to remove the sudden silence.

"Mm, of course. I was thinking of taking a trip to Rukongai, there's some business that Ukitake-taichou wants me to take care there." She informed him, finishing up one last filing. "You don't mind do you? Tatsuya has to go as well for assignment, so would you come?"

"If I can, Kurosaki-taichou is thinking about taking tomorrow off." It wasn't very responsible to leave the squad unattended, but the idea of going with his wife was very much tempting.

Yuzu understood, her husband was very responsible and very considerate of both parties, and she didn't want to press the matter at all. She simply smiled at him, tucking a peace of her golden hair behind her ear and sighing. Somehow, every time that he stepped inside the room she became breathless--their relationship was extremely cliché like that--but she couldn't help it at all. Shuuhei was such an amazing person it was impossible to ignore that feeling, that strong male scent and strong attitude were hard to miss anywhere; that is why she loved him.

At their first meeting, it had been awkward and very silent, the innocence that existed there was hard to miss from afar, but neither of them had been innocent at all either. There was a hidden romance inside, one that was wild and no one would hear about at all--keeping it inside closed doors made life easier to lead. Shuuhei smiled at his wife though, pulling her into a hug without squeezing her tightly due to her growing stomach, and she wrapped her arms around him.

"I'll make dinner tonight, Yakitori chicken?" He suggested, feeling like having that for dinner.

"Of course, sounds great." She chuckled softly, pulling away while looking at the clock. "Ah, we should get going before Hotaru and Yuu get home."

"Hotaru is looking for a few more weeks of being grounded, did you hear about what she did in 11th division today?" Somehow, being aware of their daughter's behaviour was horrid, but there was nothing that anyone could do about it because she was spunky like that.

"Yuu is the only one that behaves properly, we'll have to deal with Hotaru though." She was exhausted, and wanted to get home without having to think of a punishment for her daughter at the moment.

"She's troublesome alright, but come on. I'll carry you." Hisagi picked his wife up to his arms, carrying her bridal style.

Yuzu smiled at her husband, and held on tightly as the jumped from surface to surface as the gentle breeze brushed against their skin. The sun was slowly sinking in the sky, the glowing colours shinning brightly despite the light disappearing slowly, creating a magical view of the horizon. She felt that today had been a good day.

+---+

The night was cool, the black painted sky was being illuminated by the stars like tiny diamonds that had been showered. A few clouds hung over the abyss, the bright moon shinning down upon the city as it looked like a perfect night, and Hitsugaya sighed in relief as his work had been done for once. Tomorrow there wouldn't be much of it to be done, so that would be a good thing for Ichigo, and for himself as well since there was enough to compensate over the matter.

"Outosan, good night." Yuri peeked out of the door.

"Good night, Yuri." He replied, looking back at her as she smiled making a peace sign before stepping back inside.

"Good night, Outosan." Tatsuya stepped outside. "I'll leave tomorrow with Yuzu-neechan. Good luck in the real world."

"Thank you, you be careful." He said to his son.

It was a peaceful night at the moment, without worrying about the amount of paperwork waiting for him early in the morning, or without having to think about orders to give out to his squad members since there weren't any important things that they could do at the moment. Matsumoto was only in charge of training with them and reporting about it, there seemed to be some work that they needed to improve on, but nothing much really.

They seemed highly capable of taking care of themselves and their fellow workers, though somehow they still needed to build a stronger trusting bond between themselves. The sweet smell of the flowers seemed to be travelling in the air, a faint mist seemed to appear suddenly as he watched the forest--a figure slowly coming out from there--that black hair bellowing with the wind picking up speed.

"Karin." He called out his wife's name, as she stepped onto the porch.

"Hey, I needed to loose some steam." Karin smiled, removing her zanpaktou from her side and taking a seat besides her husband. "Peaceful night, isn't it?"

"A bit, strange. The kids have gone to sleep, so you don't have to worry about sending them to bed." He informed her, wrapping his arm around her to pull her closer to him.

She smirked to herself, feeling the warmth coming from him as it always did because he would become suddenly nervous--though it was for no reason at all. The moon was bright, a few clouds looked like they were blocking it as they swept by--it was a very quiet night and she was enjoying it for the most part.

Today had been a long day, going from squad to squad delivering papers, or running small errands. Now she knew why working for her husband had been a bad thing, well that wasn't bad, but it was simply the hard work that she had to deal with. Being a fukutaichou had been a long dream, something that perhaps seemed so distant in the past, but the opportunity had come quickly in time.

"You don't mind that the squad is going to be left without neither of us, do you?" She asked suddenly, looking at him.

"Not really, Ichigo said he would take care of things." He answered simply. He was glancing at the bright moon, it was magical for some reason. The wind started to pick up quickly, making Karin shiver. "Perhaps we shall go inside, its getting a bit cold."

She nodded while standing up, dusting their robes, both entered their house and went straight to bed without stopping anywhere else. A long day was hard on the body, weariness came quickly now that there was nothing much to do at all--anyone could get easily bored--and neither of them enjoyed it very much at all. Though, busying one's self with training seemed to be the only thing that would be more entertaining, but watching for mistakes and to better other's training was considered to be boring as well.

"Are you going to stop at you father's house first?" Toushiro asked, wanting to know for sure to get ready.

"No, I'm going straight to that place." Karin said as she climbed onto bed, pulling the covers up. "There's something I'll like to inform you about too--but not tonight."

"Mm, why though?" Usually there wasn't much to say, nothing to inform now that they were in the same squad working together, and there was no need to keep each other away.

She didn't feel like sharing the good news just yet with him, somewhere inside she had wanted to share the news with the entire family present--just like it was done in books--it seemed so special that she could not help it but dream about it. The thought of knowing that she couldn't see her mother, that her children couldn't see their grandmother; that was somewhat of a hurtful thought on the daily basis. What would life be if she was still alive though? Kurosaki Masaki was a strong woman, had been during her years alive as she had raised them to be strong, despite the fact that Karin couldn't remember her.

Ichigo had been the one to always speak fondly of their mother, though it wasn't done on a regular basis, since she had being killed by a Hollow. Now though, after that had happen, she could see that her brother was easily easing that guilt inside of him and it was a good thing he was dealing with that. Maybe having built a family changed that, with a family there were a lot of feelings and uncertainties that everyone dealt with, but it wasn't so easy sometimes though. Issues were dealt with at some point, support and opinions were handed out freely--so with a family it wasn't so hard to handle life.

"Because, we'll leave it at that." She expressed, getting closer to Toushiro and putting her head on his chest to sleep. "They're not bad news at all, so don't get to worried about it."

"I'll try, but I can't promise it." He wrapped his arm around her, turning slightly so he could sleep.

The news didn't seem to sound so bad, the tone that his wife was using was normal for standards, though there was still something hidden behind that voice. He closed his eyes, thinking of something that sounded great inside of his head; except that all scenarios were proving his mind wrong. What was there to say? A sudden promotion was out of the question. Thinking about it all night would do nothing at all--tomorrow they had to go to the real world, so they had to leave early in the morning.

The rhythmically breathing of Karin came suddenly, that peaceful sleeping face was hard to not stare at because of how her skin glowed with the moonlight coming in from the window. Toushiro slid off the bed, attempting not to wake her up at all as he lifted her upper body, and then neatly setting her on the pillow. She whispered something unintelligently, making a face, and going back to sleep again without waking up any farther.

The night sky was always beautiful, a reminder of a dark ocean with sparks moving around softly--it was captivating to the heart. A dark abyss that held nothing deep in it, darkness engulfing a being whole--but the dark sky was something that made him ease his worries. A sudden visit to the real world always made him nervous, visiting Karin's dead mother felt strange to him, specially after he had learn more about the woman. Kurosaki Masaki sounded like an amazing person, someone who protected her children and cared deeply for them, and even giving her life to protect her son.

As a father, would he do something like that? Tatsuya, Yuri both of his children depended on him for protection along with their mother, and so, as a father it was his duty to protect them from a life and death matter without regrets at all. The answer was obvious, though it helped repeating it a few times more because he would give his life for them, as a father that was his honour for them. There was no need to make a realization like that at all, the realization had been present there for so long--it was too obvious.

Toushiro looked at the dark sky one last time, before returning back inside and slipping under the bed covers to sleep. Tomorrow would be one of those days, though not much energy would be wasted, it always felt like it did though. Sighing, he closed his eyes and fell into a deep slumber with the wind whistling softly thru the cracks.

+---+

* * *

_Another long chapter--yay! Okay, well hope that everyone had a good holidays--I didn't really enjoy it 'cos I had to run around here and there. Bleh. But totally not the point here. For starters, thank you readers for the reviews. _

_+happygirl24- 'Yeah, I took your idea in consideration and tried to get an interest for him. I didn't want to leave him all by himself :( It would've been sad, but don't worry I wouldn't want to leave him all by himself. And, thank you. Hope that you liked this chapter, though it wasn't anything special at all.'_

_+WatermelonPrincess- 'Ah, I apologize. It had been the first time that I had stayed up late to write anything. Well, except for those pesky little essays and thesis for school, but nothing much. Nightmare is an awesome band, not sure of how you would like it. I'm listening to Orange Range now XD! Christmas was just the same, too much drama, and nothing special. Ah, and the story is not over. I wanted to make this the last chapter, but it was getting too long--almost 15 pages lol. So, I had to cut it up a bit. Hope that you enjoyed it though. Keep a look out for the next chapter--probably not next week soon though--school starts for me again. Thanks for the review!'_

_+Tsukihime nee- 'Well, I'm glad. Here's this chapter for now--hope that you enjoy it though. Took a bit for me to write it up, but not to worry. Thanks for the review as always!'_

_My apologies, but this story has one last chapter. Reason is, that it was getting too long and I felt like there needed to be a better proper ending. I did set out what I wanted to do, show everyone a bit more about their children and everything, so hope that didn't turn out too bad. Next chapter for sure will be the ending, and I'm starting to get some new ideas for a new story. It's going to be an AU, since I felt like I needed to write one after focusing on the slight original idea of shinigamis and such. So, that's about it. Don't go anywhere, the next chapter will come out as soon as I finish it, though school starts up for me on Monday. Eek! That's all I have to say--you know what to do. Review!!  
_


	21. Time Imperfect

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. Guess that it won't happen, only dreaming could bring such wish.

* * *

**The Bridge Of Silence**

+---+

'_A perfect fairy tale ending cannot exist,_

_Because perfection can never exist_

_A perfect ending can exist._

_Because a created happiness can actually exist.'_

+---+

+Time Imperfect+

The shadows danced softly with the wind as Karin and Toushiro walked on the little path on the trees, the breeze playing with their skin, and they held hands as they reached the cemetery. They had left Soul Society early in the morning, but had to stay for a while at Urahara's store, while he had been making minor adjustments to their gigais.

Karin was dressed in a deep purple knee length skirt and a white top, along with a pair of black flats--something not to dressy as she hadn't gotten used to wear feminine clothing--despite the fact that she rarely came to the real world. Toushiro was dressed in fitted black jeans, a white long sleeved dress shirt, topped with a black pinstriped vest and dress shoes. Though, actually both of them felt very strange on the clothes because they hadn't gotten used to look like those people who cared about fashion, or anything like that.

"It feels nostalgic, as always." She squeezed his hand.

"You have said that the many times we come here, but I don't now how to respond at all." He looked at her, but smiled a little. "You look nervous."

"Damn it, I shouldn't feel like this at all." She grounded out, as they stopped by the grave of her mother.

He looked down at the grave of his mother-in-law, the kanji words that were written on the marble stone shinned with the light as they had being tinted in gold, despite that depicting death, it was beautiful. She bended to the ground, clapping her hands together three times and started to say something to her mother, and he decided to follow her example.

Though no one knew, Toushiro actually came each time he would visit to the real world to talk to her, to inform her about the family progress and other small things that he was willing to share with her. That wasn't weird for him at all, it simply made him nervous to say the least because somehow the feeling that she was present felt so--bizarre to him.

"Ah, I forgot." Karin suddenly opened her eyes and looked over at Toushiro. "There's something that I wanted to share with the two of you."

"What is it?" He asked suddenly, as she grasped his hand and looked back at her mother's grave.

He stared at her smile, so serene and soft it was somehow it was very warming for him in the inside, but what were the news that she was going to say to him. A minute pass, though it felt more like a century of agonizing silence, thick and filled with curiosity it could perhaps kill.

"Kaa-chan, Toushiro…" The dark haired shinigami took a deep breath, and her smile growing bigger. "I…I'm…with child."

The curiosity fell rapidly like a stack of bricks, replaced by the rushing feeling of happiness, a strange feeling indeed. The white haired shinigami hugged his wife, silently dealing with his emotions as always, but thanking his mother-in-law for having brought his wife to the world for him to meet. He swore that he would always protect her, maker her happy and allow her to full fill her dreams without judging her incorrectly about any decisions at all. And that promise extended to protecting her grandchildren, hoping that they would remember a woman they never had the chance to meet at all.

"I'm glad, your news was driving me into a demented state of mind." He expressed in relief, putting his forehead against hers. "How far are you?"

"About two weeks, Tatsuya said that I needed to go see Unohana-taichou." She explained, looking back at day before yesterday. "She needed to take samples of blood, while she was doing that, she found out about it today."

Toushiro was speechless, feeling like he wanted to jump up and down, screaming like a damn idiot just like he had when he found out about Tatsuya and Yuri. Instead of expressing it loudly like that, he kissed her fully, allowing his feelings to be convey themselves in such fashion for her to understand as well. Karin kissed him with the same enthusiastic feeling, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him closer to her and intertwining her fingers on his soft white hair.

'_Thank you, Kaa-chan._' She thought, opening one of her eyes to look at her mother's grave. '_Thank you for giving me him, for being my mother and for everything else._'

What seemed hours…months…years…the two arrived at the Kurosaki clinic. The large sign was hard to miss, it had changed from its original boring state, to a more brighter one with small designs on it--sophisticated it looked somehow. They stood in the door of the house, a large banner in pink stood out horribly, their names grazing the banner in a bright gold colour along with extremely goofy versions of their faces on the sides.

"Hell, this is going to go on the books of the Kurosaki Most Embarrassing moments." Karin chuckled, as she opened the door to the old house, it was strange returning after so many years without visiting the house in which she had grown up, spent most of her life in. Everything looked warm and welcoming as always, everything was the same as one would enter the house--the house still looked the same as always. She was hit with a wave of nostalgia, as Toushiro closed the door behind him.

"It looks the same." He commented, as the two walked farther inside.

The kitchen looked spotless, clean and shiny with everything in place unlike it had been in the past--where everything was thrown around or left unattended while the house had been empty for a few hours. Somehow, it was starting to look lonely and feel lonely, as if no one lived there and it was a show simply--a real estate agent would come and sell it--that wasn't a good feeling at all.

Karin made her way up stairs, followed by Toushiro silently, as he allowed her to contemplate on her childhood home. He couldn't say anything for himself, he only remembered seeing Ichigo's room once or twice when he had come to the real world before the whole Winter War, and there hadn't been nothing to it. The other times had been when he was invited--unwillingly--or dragged by his fukutaichou to have dinner in the Kurosaki home. Though, he had always known that the home was always so welcoming, warm and had a nice atmosphere to it where no one would judge him wrongly at all.

The Kurosaki home was a haven in a slight sense, a place where being one's self was never wrong at all, instead, it was supported by Kurosaki Isshin. The growing family, the happiness that ran deep and hung over them like a curtain--it was a nice home.

"Hmm, my room looks the same." Karin brought him back to reality. "Ah, my soccer posters and the twin beds, the extra for Rukia-nee. Nothing changes here at all."

"It looks lonesome though, but still welcoming as ever." Toushiro commented, as the two sat down on what used to be her bed.

She contemplated again, allowing the old childhood memories to bury her deep and remind her the reasons why she loved this house. Every single happy moment had existed there, the laughter and the good times had happen under this roof, it was so overwhelming though. The echoes of the past resounded against the walls, the loud calls in the morning were always so annoying, and the sweet smell of the freshly made breakfast travelled around the house like a raging storm. A lot of memories had been left behind the home, happy memories, sad memories, strong ones that changed three lives entirely and it helped to shape the present.

The laughter still rang in Karin's ears, she chuckled softly as she remember the awkward memories of the times in which she would bring Toushiro into the house, and get caught making out with him. She remembered yelling at her brother for hours, telling him off and saying very rude things, and it had been the same for her father for giving her _the talk_.

"A lot of good things happen here, its funny." She explained, before he would have the chance to ask about why she had started to laugh suddenly.

"I remember, awkward moments and humorous ones too." He added, looking around the room. "I see the lamp is still there, a bit cracked on the side though."

He remembered it like it was yesterday, he remembered knocking it over while they had been in her bed and attempting to--he couldn't think farther into the memory. All there was to it was that, he had kicked it accidentally and it had fallen into the ground. Somehow though, he felt happy to know that he had built good memories of the past in this house alone. Having a past, a history that could be shared with someone felt strangely odd, but it was a good feeling nevertheless.

"Accidentally falling, that was the excuse." She smiled at him, leaning back against her bed. "I miss it though. Being woken up by that loud mouthed idiot of a father, having breakfast being served by Yuzu, and Ichi-nii being a teenager."

"You're life was cut short, it can't be helped to reminisce back into the past." He looked at her. His teal eyes holding a confusing look about them, as if something was hidden behind them for the moment--it shocked her.

"I-I don't regret it you know…if you must know." She hesitated for a second on that. "There's nothing that…that could have been done in the first place. I wanted to be with you…it was what I wanted in the afterlife in the first place. It wouldn't have mattered if it had taken twenty or fifty years for it to happen."

The look on her eyes could easily be seen, there was no pretence on that or anything that was not the truth, it was far too sincere then he had thought about in the past. He laid besides her, pulling her close to him and wrapping his arms around her while closing his eyes. She fit perfectly there, a perfect fit that in the beginning it had taken him aback for a bit. Realizing it had been hard to really accept, to fully understand that only she could belong properly in his world that easily, and so, he had to make peace with it.

Who would've thought that he would marry a random girl, one who had lost her soccer ball, and he had ended up helping her on a soccer game in the end. Fate played strange games with everyone, whether they were dead or not, a life was a life despite of the circumstances, so how would that be easy to understand?

Neither of them knew how long they had been asleep, until they felt a reiatsu appear suddenly in the house--it was strong--but it was very familiar to both of them already. Karin bolted up as she could hear her father's footsteps coming from the stairs and making his way up to where they were, somehow being found together in a bed would deem itself as strange. Though, before both of them had the chance to get out of bed--the door flew open.

"MY SON AND DAUGHTER!" Isshin said loudly, as always. "YOU HAVE COME TO VISIT ME--" He was then cut off momentarily by his daughter.

"That will never change." Karin looked down at her father, who sprang up looking like the punch hadn't affected him at all.

"You haven't missed your touch at all, its good to see the two of you." His tone suddenly changed, as he pulled her into a hug, and shaking hands with his son-in-law.

"How come you haven't taken out any of our stuff?" The daughter asked, looking around the room once again. "You should rent the rooms, I heard that you can make good mo…"

"I couldn't do that, trust me." Isshin cut her off suddenly. The look on his face was a painful look, so gloomy and pitiful that it made her feel bad about making such absurd comments.

"I…I'm sorry." She mumbled, scratching the back of her head. "That was out of line because…" She lost the thought, and kept quiet.

Isshin smiled warily, looking around the room that his twin daughters had lived in, and where his new daughter had lived as well. That past had been a happy one, filled with so many memories that could count for the next lifetime, and one that could be written into a book later in life. There was so many things that had happen since then, lots of changes that brought good things into different lives, and things that he was glad that had taken place in the lives of his three children and he was very proud of them as well.

His only son had become a captain, married his third _daughter_ and had three grandchildren now that he proudly enjoyed talking about to his friends, and his son was always sincere about his promises to protect his family and his friends there was nothing else that he could ask for from him at all. His youngest daughter had become a vice-captain, married another vice-captain and gave him two grandchildren in return, while another one was in the way. And, his eldest daughter had also become a vice-captain and married a captain, she was strong and fierce when it came to work, but she had a kind side now that she was a mother of two children.

A parent couldn't be any more proud of his children like Isshin was, boasting about them was always nostalgic now that none of them were even living in the same plane as him, so it had become a bit lonely. There was nothing to regret of course, life would come and claim them sooner or later, and he was happy knowing that they were happy themselves with their lives.

"Don't worry about it, come on. I should start making dinner, wouldn't want you two to die of starvation now." He grinned stupidly as he walked out of the room, and down to the kitchen.

"He seems…a bit lonely." Toushiro spoke up suddenly, as they stood in the room still.

"I know, but he doesn't want to go back with us. It looks like he gets along well, even if he has to put up a front about it." Karin stated as they closed the door of her old room.

Her father had made Sukiyaki and Kombu dashi for dinner, which the couple greatly enjoyed as the dinner was a normal one with different topics. Laughter filled the table a few times, heated arguments and loudness seemed normal for them because they had never been a normal family in the beginning. Humans and shinigamis combining seemed to only bring up 'strangeness', but to them it was just the norm and strangeness was easily accepted by them.

"Son, how is the 10th squad doing now days?" Isshin asked after they had moved from the human concept of life.

"There's nothing negative to say, only minor improvements need to be administered to them." The white haired shinigami replied, taking a bite out of his sweet bun that they were having for dessert.

"That's good to hear, and I'm glad that Karin-chan was moved to your squad. Makes it easier to know she's safe." He expressed to his son-in-law.

"I'm capable of taking care of myself just fine, geez." The dark haired shinigami grumbled, glaring at her father as she spoke. "Besides, we're professionals."

"I know, but now with the condition that you're in now." Her father wiggle his brow on the process, earning two glares at once. "What? You two children thought I wouldn't know about it?"

"It was going to be a surprise." Hitsugaya said apathetically, tracing the rim of his tea cup with his finger. "I only found out about it today as well, so there's no surprise about it anymore."

"Well, congratulations to both of you though." Isshin stood up. "MY SWEETEST DAUGHTER HAS GRANTED US ANOTHER GRANDCHILD…" He wailed around the house, walking to the poster of his wife and yelling again.

Karin only groaned as she knew the whole neighbourhood would hear about that, and obviously, they would have a reason to talk about how badly they had been raised since most of them had been young parents--Ichigo had been the one to be a young father at the age of 17. So, she didn't clearly approved of teenage pregnancy of any sort, but she had been twenty then--and her brother had been a responsible adult with a girlfriend that was more then a 100 plus something years old, who just happened to look like a 16 year old.

The world was messed up, everyone lived to their own prerogative, and there was no way in hell that she would allow others to inflict any kind of verbal say on her life at all. She was a grown woman, one who could make choices without consulting a figure of power to make choices for her. Life happened, nothing more to say on that matter at all.

+---+

As the cool night air played around Karin's dark tresses, she inhaled the sweet scent of the flowers that had bloomed in the empty roadway that which she enjoyed going to, and the place in which she had started getting to know her husband. The old afterimages of her ten-year-old self came back, along with the images of Toushiro who looked just about the same age--it was strange how that memory had never left her at all. Though, all of that past made her happy knowing that it actually had existed. Somehow that thought seemed off for her.

"The sunset never fails to amaze me at all." Toushiro interrupted her thinking, as his teal orbs gazed at the sinking golden sun. The raw colours seemed magical, the golden playing with the indigo colours was like nothing else in the world or dimensions.

He knew that the sunsets from Soul Society could never compare to the sunsets here, they were more real and vivid unlike the place in which all souls went to. After all, Soul Society was a place where the dead resided in, so it was a hard comparison. His gaze wondered there, instinctively he reached for his pocket to fish out his cell phone, but forgot that there was no longer a threat for the moment.

"Ha ha, you act instinctively." Karin laughed at him. "I keep thinking back at that time in which I saw you here, playing with your cell phone…old times."

"Yes, and you with your soccer obsession. Its hard to forget it." He smiled at her, supporting his weigh back with his hands that were holding onto the metal as he leaned back.

"I…can't wait until our new child is born." She suddenly said, turning her head to look at the white haired man besides her. The expression that had been peaceful was replaced with happiness, so full of unknown enthusiasm and wonder at the saying of a new child.

"I'm glad about that. Never had guessed that at all though, it was a nice surprise." He turned to look at her, raising his left hand to cup her cheek, rubbing it with his thumb. "Is it a fair life for you?"

That question took her by surprised as her gaze changed dramatically, it wasn't something that would come up easily on a conversation, but simply in a thought. Of course life wasn't meant to be fair, but somehow that shallow happiness seemed unfair to everyone else who wasn't allowed to be happy. Karin had gone thru that countless thinking though, so it was fair for her to say that…

"Yes, it is fair." She answered without missing a beat on her tone. "Are you happy now?"

That made him question on his own, because he had never known happiness on his own at all until she had come into his world. He could easily say that his life was fair, a few mishaps and missteps, but it was fair. Unhappiness had been something that which he had lived under for so long, having so many people being ripped away from his world managed to change a lot of views. So…could he really say he was happy?

"Happiness is knowing that you're there, nothing else can change it." He spoke. Soft and caring. "I am…happy now."

She leaned forward to capture his lips, while his cold hand grabbed the back of her head and allowed her to get carried away as always.

A strange happiness easily sprang from such action, it was placid and peaceful. The one love that had never been searched for, a kiss that seemed far more meaningful then anything that was described in a fairytale. A life like that could never be called a fairytale love, a romance of the century as it should--nothing could describe the anticipating happiness and joy that had sprung. The many years it had taken for such love to exist, nothing could compare to it.

A love from a simple romance story seemed to be too made up, a love that could only be seen thru two people's eyes and it became a bit frightening. The challenge that had taken place in their love was so complicated, all the hardships that they faced held a more powerful meaning unlike no other love story. Karin hadn't known what a great love story was, mainly because she had never cared so much about love itself. Romeo and Juliet--the star crossed lovers that died in the end--but to only end the feud of their families. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy--the couple that seemed to transcend some type of unjustifiable love and one that was complicated for her to understand.

Too many great love stories existed, classic couples that turned into timeless love heroes of their own--Karin had never cared at all--nor had she wanted to start at all. Toushiro, himself had never thought of it either as a love story at all--it was simply a fate winding road that had lead him into this life with its complications and good points. Nothing matter to him though, only knowing that Karin was there alive and breathing happily was enough for him.

The faint sound of her elaborated breathing came, as they had sat on the grassy area in the park at night under the moonlight. He couldn't help but smile, tucking a piece of her long dark hair behind her ear to look at her face. That faint smile on her soft lips, the way she clung onto him was hard to understand, because he had never been aware so much at how she had attached herself to him. Losing her would be damning, the obliteration of his world and the end to life itself--though he could find himself moving along with life though.

A crease appeared on his frown, deep and dark at the unjustifiable thought that he was crossing in. A world where she didn't exist would be surreal, a nightmare because it wouldn't be right. Perhaps if she did exist, what would her life had been if she had stayed human? It was too much to think, how had he become pathetically dependent on another life like that? No, it wasn't a pathetic choice that he had made at all. Seeing her smile, waking up next to her in the morning knowing that she would watch him carefully--that was nice.

A smile appeared on his strong face, his eyes looking up at the moon as he carefully picked her up from the ground and into his arms. Carefully, he walked them back to her old home to sleep--getting back to Soul Society would do no good at the moment.

Karin opened her eyes quickly at the movement, his light footsteps were unreal that she sighed at how he was moving so gently like that. The musky smell of his shirt was almost like a drug, sometimes she wondered if he hadn't been part of the hallucinations given by that smell. It seemed silly to think so… fondly like that. A frown appeared on her face, the moon seemed to dance above her as he continued to walk in the street.

"You can let me down." She whispered, enough for him to hear.

"Its fine, I woke you up." He said, pulling her closer to him.

"No…I dozed off." It had been true, being near him like made that possible. Being too comfortable was too much, at least for her.

Toushiro said nothing as the clinic came into view, and from the looks of it, no one was home at all. The windows were all dark, the curtains draw closed together…so he decided to stick to the old tradition. Jumping was a natural reflex, his body flew up to the window of her room and he quickly opened it without trouble at all.

"Your father isn't here." As he sat her down on the bed, he tried to sense the man's reiatsu, but with no avail.

"Probably at… Urahara's. Who… knows." She mumbled weakly. The warmth radiating from the bed was welcoming too, a little too much though.

The pale moonlight illuminated the dark room, shadows playing nicely on different surfaces with the billowing of the curtains. Bright turquoise eyes stood out, like big emerald stones shinning underneath the light--bright and beautiful. Toushiro sat on the bed, placing his cool hand on his wife's stomach trying to feel the miniscule reiatsu that was growing there--his strength mixed with hers--their child.

"Thank you." He mumbled lowly, leaning down to put his head on her stomach.

"W…what for?" She asked, mumbling still.

"For…this. Everything. Happiness. Life." He wasn't sure why he hadn't properly told her how grateful he was for having her around.

"Mm…you're welcome." She sighed happily. Her hand lifting up and brought down on his head, the softness of his snow white hair tickled her senses, it was so silky smooth.

They laid there like that for minutes…hours…it was an unmeasured amount of time. Both had fallen asleep in their positions like that, neither bothered by it. The hours hadn't felt long though, as the sun peaked inside the room and brighten it up.

The wind was still fluttering softly, the sounds of the cars passing by came inside--bouncing off the walls as the birds chirping joined with the masses. The real world was obviously so different, the many sounds that it created gave life a different feeling compare to the more-peaceful sounds from Soul Society. Comparing two different realms seemed complicated on its own, living in both would also be as complicated, but they both were easily appreciated the same.

The dark haired shinigami awoke first, blinking her eyes slowly as the light danced across her pallid face--she struggled for a few minutes to adjust to the sudden brightness. The weight on her stomach was warm, a tickling sensation came from the softly breathing from the man laying asleep there. She brought her arm to cover her eyes from the blinding light--the early morning had come--but the house still felt empty.

The white haired shinigami fluttered his eyes open, the feeling of having someone look down on him was uncomfortable, but he was too wrapped up on the warmth of the body under him. He looked up, meeting dark soft eyes with his, a faint smiled appeared on his wife's face.

"Mm, awake yet?" Karin asked, attempting to sit up.

"I assume, I think." Toushiro got up, not too fast so he wouldn't give himself head rush.

Karin sat up and stretched, allowing the grogginess to disappear from her stiff body, and sniffed a large amount of air. Toushiro scratched his eyes, sleeping like that hadn't done good to his neck as it felt stiff, but the warmth from last night had felt safe. The two walked out of the room, after a five minute break to stretch and allow the sleepy feeling to lift from their bodies, and went straight to the kitchen.

She had become more practical in the kitchen, years of practice did make perfect, well in a slight sense that which she wouldn't burn the house down or make something that looked like it might walk out of the plate. The break was a simple Western style, pancakes with eggs, a glass of both orange juice and milk, and some fruit on the side--that was simple enough.

"Even the food tastes different." He commented out loud, wolfing down the last bit of his pancake.

"Maybe because you lovely wife made them with an extra hint of…love." She answered sarcastically, helping herself for seconds as she was now feeding two stomachs at once. "Okay, that was obviously a very crappy answered…what the hell do I know though."

"Hell if I know…" He rolled his eyes, pretending to act like the normal 20 something year old man.

That felt weird in its own way, a life that couldn't be easily dealt with due to how time transcended, and where he stood at in his real time. Having lived for so long did that, causing for one to fail to notice changes around, or having to put a mask that hid well what was truly inside. Yes, that was the life outside of this house and outside of the other realm, it was a difficult façade to put up for the rest though.

"Mm, I wonder sometimes if this would be the life we would have if both of us were living human beings." She expressed, staring at nothing in particular while she chewed on her spoon.

He never put much thought to it, so he wondered now. What would life be? Firstly, there was the job…what would be something fitting for him? Lawyer. Doctor. Businessman. Accountant. It wouldn't make sense, at some point there had been a picture of him in a suit--without counting the times in which he had really worn one. It was a different picture all the same, a medium sized house, with all the other human accommodates, and her along with their children. The picture itself was strange--so he shook his head to let it move into the back of his forgotten memories.

"I wouldn't know, it never really crossed my mind so much." He re-considered, but it wouldn't do good at all. "It would be too…daresay…_normal_…something that would be too far made up for even my own reality."

She sighed. "You're right…normal. Shit." She took off upstairs, the bits of her breakfast came back not so--subtle.

Hitsugaya followed closely by, watching her vomit all the stuff that she had fed herself with--first signs of morning sickness. Somehow, he felt sorry for her knowing that there was a few more weeks of that left.

"Are you alright?" He inclined, pulling her hair back so she would it get it filled with the bile.

"Ugh…shit. That fucking makes me sick altogether--morning sickness is shit." She felt the bile rise up on her throat, and she brought her head to throw it all out. "Fucking hell!"

He had missed his wife's sudden mouthful burst, obviously she favoured to express herself that way instead of completely punch something--or someone. A few more minutes, Karin stood up looking more pallid and sickly looking, but he knew that it was nothing to worry about much. Pregnancy…confusing.

"I…there should be an apology for that. Though, it wouldn't be proper." Toushiro inquired, as the two re-entered the kitchen again.

Karin knew that it wasn't easy to deal with it, but she couldn't blame him. "Perhaps we should start cutting down on sex…in the future." That wouldn't be a fair trade to say the least…she didn't fancy the thought of it at all. "Fucking screw that, never mind it."

"Punishment--wouldn't have seen that coming." He joked. She poked him in the ribs, causing him to jump back. "Guess…not."

"Ugh, I can't believe we're so stupid like that." She groaned again, laying her face on the cool table. "I'm acting like a very prudish high school girl, who's hormones react too quickly at the thought of sex. Damn…didn't see that one coming for myself."

"You were never a teenager, Karin." Toushiro reminded her, taking her hand. "Growing up too quickly makes you think that way…at least I think so." He wasn't sure about his little theory, but he had been part of it. Teenage hormones had come to him a few years back, the only thought that ran on his mind at some point had been…_sex_.

They continued to talk more deeply into the teenage hormonal years, how their little hormones called forth the very forbidden task of life. The one thing that could seal a destiny, change a life, and bring out a different view about life--it was confusing still though. Despite the fact of years of…experience…they still found it complicated to really grasp the idea of it. A deep love bonding, was that it?

By midday, they stood in the middle of the kitchen and the living room, dressed differently after a long shower. Karin was dressed on a midnight baby doll shirt, paired with black leggings, with her black upside down cross earrings and her hair pulled back in the middle. She was wondering if the dressing was being done on purpose just to annoy her, or simply because they though it looked nice.

Toushiro was dressed in dark blue fitted jeans, a long-sleeved black and blue stripped shirt, topped with a black blazer that fitted his so well, and with a small bracelet with a dragon on it. He too wondered the same as Karin, the clothes were oddly on him to begin with, and he wasn't like being the one to play dress up in.

"Barbie world, never the place you want to visit." She muttered, moving towards the living room. Somehow, it had been the room that which had gone avoided during their visit.

The room shocked her at first, it wasn't so bright due to the dozens of picture frames that hung perfectly still on the walls--it was so much. Her dark gaze lingered over the pictures, memories of her life, brother's, and her twin sister's. He looked around as well, those frames on the wall took him by surprised…was that really the large smile that he gave while looking at his wife?

The smiles of his children, nephews and nieces--all had been recorded in their own time and place. They stood in place, holding each other hands, while her free hand lingered on her stomach. Had they been real smiles? Smiles of happiness, surprise, heroic, fulfilled, enduring--there were so many words that could describe the many different smiles that held different emotions to it.

Was that…real?

They stood shocked for a second, thinking and re-thinking about it thoroughly to grasp the idea of what those pictures were really showing. Karin gasped after realizing it, a tear streaked down her face due to how it surprised her, how her own happiness was being programmed in a piece of paper.

"O…Otousan." She mouthed.

"I thought the two of you would like it." Isshin appeared, unheard by them as he walked inside the room from the front door. "It helps knowing that the three of you are happy, makes me proud to call the three of you my children."

She turned, and smiled. "Why?"

"Thought that someday, it would help recalling the happy moments that had being spent in your life along with the rest that gravitate around it too." He looked smug, proud of himself for making his daughter react that way. "Its like a biography with pictures, one that words can't convey the true meaning to neither your life, Ichigo's or Yuzu's. Toushiro, Shuuhei, Rukia…they are included in that pretty framed up life. All of my grandchildren…it's a large frame." He pointed to the largest frame, it was centred in the room.

Ichigo stood in the middle, holding five-year old Koji in his arms, he was smiling brightly at the camera while his free arm was wrapped around Rukia. Kazuki and Amaya stood behind them making peace-signs at the camera, while they smiled brightly as well. Yuzu and Hisagi were on the right side holding their twin children in their arms, both smiling as well with such radiating happiness that was addicting. Isshin was on the very back, arms stretched up in the air in victory with a huge smile on his face. Karin saw herself sitting on the left side, not sulking like other family pictures, instead she was actually smiling like the rest.

It took her a second to get it together, to understand that she was really happy about it. On her side, Toushiro sat there as well with a faint smile on his face, holding baby Yuri in his arms while Tatsuya sat on her lap, grinning widely at the camera. Truly, that was unfathomable to actually believe that it existed. Though, proof existed as a picture that hung perfectly in the wall next to other memorabilia of the Kurosaki/Hitsugaya/Hisagi family there. How had the Abarai family ended up there, along with the Ishida family? It was something unbelievably…meaningful.

"There's no words for it." She suddenly said, marvelling at the picture frames. Her wedding day, birth of Tatsuya, birth of Yuri--other moments of her and Toushiro.

"It is the only that I can keep growing, a few more hundred years and I wonder how much wall I would have to take then." Isshin chuckled, glancing at the picture of when the family had just started. Five year old Ichigo, new-born Karin and Yuzu cradled on Masaki's arms as he stood behind them with a smile as well. "I wished she was here…to savour all of the family together." There were tears threatening to fall, but he held back on that nostalgic feeling that was rupturing.

"Its lovely, I think." Toushiro spoke for the first time. "So many vivid memories, many lives that have joined our little world--magical in a sense." He was marvelled by it too, it was hard not to be drawn to all of the smiles on the pictures. Surreal.

After a few more hours of questioning, murmuring, and more laughter…they all stood in the doorway as the sun was threatening to sink soon. Another day had become wasted, though not in a bad way.

"I'll see you soon, kid." Isshin smiled, as he hugged his daughter briefly as she hated too much mushiness.

"Sure thing, strange how I didn't kick you today." She mused, but smiled nevertheless at her father.

"Have a good afternoon, Kurosaki-san." Toushiro bowed, and extended his hand towards his father-in-law. Though, he knew that the man wouldn't accept such courteous and brief good bye like that. No, he was pulled into a big hug and a pat in the back.

"Take care of my girl now, and the child there." He pointed at Karin's stomach. "I'll come visit, as soon as Ryuuken stops messing with poor Mika-chan again."

"Hai-hai! Tell them I send my regards for my lack of visiting them, promise that we'll try to make it longer next time." She said, looking at her wrist watch. "Ah, we should get going. Urahara is probably waiting, see you soon old man."

They waved at each other, Karin and Toushiro disappearing down the road and in the left turn of the street. Their reiatsu lingering in the air still, strong and healthy from how it felt--that made Isshin happy to know that both of them were doing great. He closed the door of the house, taking off to the Karakura General Hospital, for yet another shift.

The house stood empty, dark as the moon appeared as two invisible doors opened in the sky, while two butterflies appeared. The two figures that had stood there looked back for a second, turning back again while holding their hands, and walked inside the doors and they closed.

Back into the house, everything was silent and still as no sounds stirred inside--like the famous carol that was sung on the special occasion. The moon laying softly on whatever surfaces it could land upon, the living room silent still as the wind squeezed itself thru the smell openings, whistling softly in the night. The many dozen picture frames that hung on the wall shinned a bit, the light bouncing off the crystal glass that covered them--only one stood out from the rest.

The large family that had been imprinted there, black and white seemed to have captured the moment so right and perfectly. Though, the pictured depicted the imperfect time in their lives, a happiness that existed but had been hard to acquire for so many years. Their smiles were open, wide and filled with joy of life itself along with their family together like that--nothing seemed to break them at all--it was a family that was united tightly. A created happiness indeed, a perfect ending that could transcend into the after life, and the rebirth of life again. Not so perfect but… near it. And a silent bridge had been crossed.

+--THE END--+

* * *

_Aww...the end people. Thank you for all of you who stuck to this story from the very beginning, or at least picked up at some point but follow thru. Gosh, there's no words that I can really say about how it feels to finish this story. I know that there's a lot of open gaps, but I couldn't bring myself to write a concrete ending there because there's so much else that could happen. I'm not going thinking about writing a sequel though, it would be too much of a 2nd generation and I wouldn't do something like that. _

_+happygirl24- 'Thank you, thank you for the many reviews and positive words that you have given me. I credit you on so many ideas for this story, so if I could send you a big awesome car I would--sadly I don't even own my own car lol. You're the one who has stuck to this story, always commenting on different things and everything. Thank you again. Hope that you liked this chapter.'_

_+Tsukihime nee- 'I'm poetic now? LOL. I'm glad that you liked it though, and its sad to say that its finally the end to this story. I wasn't keen into writing it for too long though, there's so much else that I could really get into, but that would lead no where at all. Hope that the ending was good, it was hard to write it. Thanks for the reviews though. And, hope that your first day back to school was good. Thank you for the support.'_

_+WatermelonPrincess- 'Aw, its sad to say that this was the final chapter. Thank you so much for those amazing reviews and wonderful support. Eh, so you like Nightmare? Cool. Hope that this ending was a good one since I really didn't know where I wanted to take it at all, plus its also a bit long :). Many thanks for listening to my complains, and for being very considerate over my story.'_

_+Kida Ookami- 'I was going to, but couldn't happen 'cos I really did not like the idea very much, and getting in depth with a lot of the Soul Society business really wasn't up on my front at all. Thank you so much for the reviews, for the positive feedback and everything else. Hope that you enjoy this ending as much as I enjoyed writing it, despite of so many difficulties.'_

_I can't thank my readers enough for their support, their kind words, and their thoughts at all because there's so much to be said at once...words obviously can't convey the proper message. I hope that everyone knows what I am talking about though. Many thanks to my friend Liz, who sadly doesn't have an account, but she was my outside support. Always bugging me about finishing, along with my friend Becca, who loves my writing. Hahaha...well I hope that I see everyone again on another story. I'm off to work on an AU Hitsu/Karin fic, the details are a bit unknown at the moment, but I want to work with some Supernatural thing like vampires (its a bit of my obsession here) or something like that, I'm unsure still. Thank you again...  
_


	22. Epilogue: Under The Stars

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach...no...never...

**Author's Note**: I just couldn't leave you guys like that...enjoy the epilogue and now it seriously is the end.

* * *

**The Bridge Of Silence**

**+---+**

"_Thou bearest in Heaven at night, _

_And more I admire_

_Thy distant fire,_

_Than that colder, lowly light."_

_-__Evening Star_

+---

+Under The Stars+

**+---+**

Karakura Town-23 Years Earlier…

_The breeze was gentle, soft and it smelled fresh from the sakura trees that which looked completely peaceful from afar. It could easily be mistaken for a postcard, a timeless moment captured in a photograph, but it was not so. Karin stared off into the horizon line at that particular spot, the one in which the world never seem to squeeze itself in, and the place that which she could allow herself to think freely. _

_Yesterday Toushiro had gone back to Soul Society, dealing with the aftermath of an almost fallen period for them hadn't gone well, but there was no helping it at all. Everyone was still on edge, completely trying to avoid that hollow feeling that seemed to continue growing into a burdening feeling to carry around. Her 18__th__ birthday approached with each day, slowly bringing her closer to that complete adult life. _

_Despite that, there was no freedom at all due to how her life was split into two different worlds. There was no going back though, a fate turned completely off from its original path. She sighed, trying to come up with the best solution to the problem, trying hard to think of a better life outside of duties and honour, family and loyalty--none of that could count at the moment. _

_Where was her place at in both worlds? Being a daughter in one part, being a protector on the other--two completely different worlds that continue to clash against each other. Having them become so unbalance had led her to near destruction, to an empty place in the mind that scared her to think about. Going back to that hollow feeling, that raw emotion that was so chaotic and caused calamity as it walked forward. _

_The air wrapped itself around her, awakening her senses as she pulled out her phone and stared at the smiling couple in the background. A smile appeared in Karin's face, it was a tender moment that would always be retained as real no matter what. After all, Soul Society could no longer come between herself and Toushiro, now that they were both legal to do what they wanted. _

"_You never get tired of coming here, do you?" Toushiro appeared suddenly behind her, still in his shinigami form. _

"_Mm, it's a nice place to relax. What is it to you?" Karin replied, putting her hands on her hips as she gazed at him. _

_He said nothing in return, simply taking his seat on the railing and watching the horizon. It was melancholic as always, knowing that there was that back thought of having to leave her behind all the time. Feeling like a complete, utterly useless being that couldn't protect her from being hurt--it was hard to deal with that at once. _

"_I'm sorry," he spoke, looking at her and smiling only for her. _

"_What is there to be sorry about?" she watched him carefully, trying to really put her mind into thinking that he was really there. _

"_Leaving… for leaving you by yourself." Toushiro ran a hand thru his white locks, and getting off the railing. "It most be hard on you, always knowing seeing me leave…" He trailed off, finding it humanly impossible to express it in words. _

_She smirked at him, punching his shoulder lightly, but then wrapping her arms around him. "Don't worry, it is hard." Confessing would be better, a burden would only make one miserable. "As long as you come back, there's nothing to be completely sorry about at all." _

_Toushiro knew that their relationship was risky, almost impossible to have in the past after he had returned once the Winter War had been over. Kurosaki Karin had been there from the start, filling his world with a lot of unknown happiness, an addicting happiness for that matter. Seeing that smile, radiant and filled with life only made him want her. _

_Being away was always hard, a punishment almost for Toushiro to be away from that warmth that filled him. Living in a cold world had been enough, Karin was a ray of sunlight that only managed to reduce him into a mere man, one that needed a woman's love to find another purpose of living. That was nearly condemning enough, but just not good enough for him to crawl away from that at all because of how high induce he was on her. _

_No one made him feel that way, not even Hinamori, whom he had loved dearly for so long. She loved someone else though, thus leading her into a state of despair and misery altogether; it would be nearly impossible to be driven away from it. No, his feelings towards Karin were different and almost thrilling, with a hint of danger and fear along as well…_

"_I'll stay, but I can't guarantee that." He pulled her close, bending down to capture her lips…but pushing her away suddenly. _

"_What? Did…I do something wrong?" Obviously startled, she frowned at him in worry. _

_He chuckled, amusing for him of course. "Its just that…I'm still not on a gigai here." _

_She went wide eyed for a second, going to normal, then to a frown, and turning into a devious smile. The two broke out laughing, each allowing that warm feeling to surrender each other--a blissful happiness ran deep there. It was foreign for them obviously, a love that spread up higher then expected--nearly suffocating and blinding it became. _

"_Well, we'll fix that." Karin smiled, as he picked her up and shunpoed away from the area as the afternoon sun was becoming more blinding._

_+---_

_They laid in the rooftop, being wrapped by a warm blanket so their naked bodies wouldn't get cold. They gazed intensely at the stars, each unwilling to break the long silence again. Toushiro pressed her tighter to him, wanting to actually know if she was really there, but it was all so true. Karin smiled at the notion, putting her head on his chest and inhale the natural musky smell that he let off. The breeze was still soft, colder under the moonlight that shone down on them. _

"_When will you return?" She broke the silence, finding it nearly impossible to continue with it. _

"_Not sure, there's nothing going on at the moment in Soul Society anyways." He answered, continuing to gaze up at the night sky. "There's still lots of things to do, now that the Royal Guard has been demanding answers. Its complicated, too complicated for its own good." _

_She traced the scar that was on his chest, unable to stop herself from wanting to hold him near her forever and never let him go. He was real, none of that crap that every single girl at school would always claim, but tomorrow he would come for sure to school. Faking a relationship would be nearly impossible, not in a place like Karakura High, where nothing was a secret anymore. Obviously, she would enjoy that--gloating around with Toushiro in her arms--enjoying the jealousy seeping into all the girl's eyes. There would be so much hate, loathing for a girl like her to have someone like Toushiro. _

_Every other guy could never level up to his calibre, no one would be good enough to replace his strength and such smooth act like him, because no one could ever do so even if they would try. She was lucky, that was for sure, to know that he was just as addicted to her as she was to him. _

"_Are you going to fake the act tomorrow at school?" Curious thing, love that is. _

"_Can't be helped, its not easy to let your guard down." The replies were always hard to understand, a hidden message always laid beyond his words. _

"_Well, they'll be asking you about Moscow. So, you'll most likely to come up with something good." She smiled, kissing his chest. "All the girls in class will be all over you." _

"_I don't care for them," he sighed simply, trying not to think about it. "They're useless girls, none of them thinking along the same lines as me. Hard to get pass them, really."_

_Karin knew that but she couldn't help it, to think that all the girls would flock to his side and watch him carefully. She was jealous of course, it wasn't some feeling that could be easily pushed away simply. _

"_I won't like it, you know that." There was a demanding tone, but that was the way Karin was. _

"_I'll only watch you, push them aside if I must." Obviously, he was enjoying the way that she had suddenly turned completely jealous like that. It was an utterly amusing thing. "I'll pay no mind to them at all, if that's what you want?" Toushiro sat up to, pulling his girlfriend close to her and kissing her softly. "Is that what you want?" _

_Karin wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer to deepen the kiss further. Though, he notice that she was being aggressive by the way she tugged on his hair tightly. His hand slipped to cup her face, to touch that soft pallid skin that glowed under the moonlight. _

_How could something so angelic like that be his? _

_Fifteen minutes later, they were both panting for air inside the room now. The apartment held no memory at all anymore, it was as if the person who had lived in it had never existed. The past was suddenly replaced, like using the memory modifier to make the rest of the world forget about the person--to erase everything about that person so no one would remember. _

_Hitsugaya started to think about it thoroughly, what would he do if Karin suddenly vanished from his mind? It was nearly unthinkable, a sad thing it would be for him to see because she was now a huge part of his whole existence. There was no secret there, nothing that could erase that at all because of some exodus conquest for this world. Departure, that always hurt to do. _

"_Toushiro." She spoke up, softly as she was being taken over by sleep. _

"_Yes?" He asked, wondering and worrying about what she wanted._

"_Do you imagine our lives in the future?" She asked, feeling childish at that. Of course there wouldn't be a good future, a captain with a half-human girl seemed utterly foolish. _

_There was no lying in it, obviously he couldn't picture a future without her being part of it. Dreams, reality, memories--all of that had been filled with only Karin. So, of course, it was obvious that there needed to be a future that which she would be in. _

"_I have, yes. Almost damn impossible not to, it's a good picture." He mused, trying to remember his last dream of him and a family. "Kids…that's been in so many of my dreams." _

_Karin chuckled softly, stirring as she fixed herself in the pillow comfortably. "Really? That's strange, never thought of myself as a motherly person at all. It doesn't suit me, try again." _

"_Alright, a place in which we can be together without being judged." _

"_Ah, I like that better. It seems something that looks promising, but not kids." _

"_You mean to tell me you wouldn't want any?" Suddenly, Hitsugaya felt offended. _

"_Don't get your panties in a bunch Toushiro, its simply something I'm not looking forward to." She explained, getting a frown on her face. "Maybe in a few years, like say…when I'm 30 or something." _

_That made him laugh again, it was hard to laugh without having her amusing comments around. Karin was always serious about life changing decisions, but never the one to fully take responsibility for such inquisitive answers at all. Avoiding confrontation, that seemed more like her. _

"_That can't be prevented, simply because you just want for it to never happen." He explained, after regaining back his composure._

"_Turning 19 and with children, no thanks." She was now wide awake. "Young parenting doesn't seem appealing in any level, for the love of shinigamis, my brother was a young parent. Though, he's great with people and such, despite his off appearance. Family life is suited for him, not someone like me." _

_Sure, there were dreams that she had yet to accomplish in her life, but family wasn't something that looked so bright into her future at all. It was something that existed only for other people, those who had a better and less complicated life, without danger and any of the sort. The perfect life, that was the word for it, a picturesque and painted life that only seemed to exist in colours--all her life remained black and white. _

_He, on the other hand, felt that a life like that would eventually come to him. Actually, there was no doubt that he could handle that parenting life, because of how life suddenly had a different perspective to it. Almost like a clear sky, cloudless and filled with so many chances of how life would be tomorrow. Endless possibilities existed entirely there, that was for sure. _

"_What would you know? Maybe there's a chance that it would work out, whatever the outcome." He stared down at her, gazing deep into her eyes to show the truth. "Life is a risk itself, one that only comes once until you die. For myself, I can only hope that something such as a family exist, but only you can make it true." _

"_Aw, that's cute." She kissed him, and ran her hand on his hair. "Tell you what though. I've dreamed about it once, but only once. A small boy just like you in my arms, smiling happily with us. Living in Soul Society, peacefully and graced with good things in life." _

"_You aren't the only one that has, trust me." He pulled her close, and closed his eyes. "Come on, lets sleep. Tomorrow I have to deal with those girls at school, and need to think of a good story regarding Moscow." _

"_You're not getting out of it easily, but I'll like to see what you come up with." She grinned, before closing her eyes. _

_The night sky turned darker, rain clouds moved in and rain began to pour down upon Karakura. The lullaby it produced succumbed them to sleep, softly and melodic it seemed tonight. The moon was still shinning down, the rain was simply soft and misty. The wind gently scurrying around, wrapping itself around the sakura trees and taking the petals with it as it continued to move around. A beautiful night it was. _

_---+_

Present…

The couple watched the two twin boys sleeping, their chests rising up and down softly as they were already in a deep slumber. It seemed like a miracle that they had survived, everything in their lives was like a miracle that each day brought them closer. Karin smiled contently, she wrapped her arm around Toushiro's waist as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and the two walked out of the room.

"Who would've thought that I would have twins." She commented, as they walked out to the porch to enjoy the breeze of the early spring day.

"No one, I assume." He replied, taking his seat and pulling his wife into his lap. "Though, I am content knowing that they're here with us."

"Ha, I'm the one that carried them for 7 months." There was sarcasm there, but he simply grunted in response. "They grow up fast, don't they?"

"Mm, they become troublesome with age." He grinned, as they sat down and leaned against each other.

There was so much underlying happiness, an engorging feeling that only continued to grow stronger with time. A bond so deep, so tightly held together with silver chains of Fate that only wanted to keep that bond closer. With time, no one would ever know what would happen at all.

"What do you think of family now?" He had been curious for the longest time, still remembering the comments that his wife had made long ago regarding children.

"Nothing, I'm simply happy knowing that we're here and everything is fine around." She answered her husband, interlocking her hand with his. "I like it better this way, instead of that lonely thing that seemed unfitting even for me."

Karin had realized it only a few years back, when Yuri had been born. She knew then that life would never be the same, a child brought unknown feelings that those without children would never be able to understand. It was a good thing though, different perspectives of the world became more clearer and more meaningful, as time continued to move on.

"I can see that, it makes sense." He agreed, watching the sunset and carefully letting his guard down.

It was easier now, showing the warmth side in a place where it belonged, to express feelings with someone else who was reserved about them. She smiled, watching the sinking sun on the horizon line watching the beautiful golden and indigo colours of the sun as it disappeared.

"It should, or else there would be some major ass kicking tonight." She grinned wickedly, trying not to bring herself to cause much trouble at all. "Besides, I assume it does make sense."

There hadn't been anything going on with Soul Society, simple duties were being carried out as in the past without worrying about other attacks. In reality, there were a few shinigami that had been sent to Hueco Mundo to keep an eye on it, along with Nel, and it seemed that things were clearing up for the better. There were a few more things that had been investigated, but it was nothing that anyone would worry about for the time being.

Soul Society was moving to a peaceful period, a time that which would bring forth prosperity for everyone now, and no longer worrying about looking behind themselves. Tomorrow though, everyone in the Kurosaki noble household was preparing for the nuptials of Ichigo and Rukia--their anniversary that was to be celebrated with another wedding. No one knew the reason why they were doing it, Karin didn't care at all as long as she wasn't being dragged into that nonsense stuff. Though, she was happy knowing that they were doing great together after all of that miserable time that they had spent a few years back.

She was content with how things had turned out for her brother, knowing that he was happy and going about his life without feeling miserable, and slowly moving away from those painful memories that seemed to have hunt him. After the birth of Tadashi and Yoshiro, she seemed to be more cheerful and happy about things around her, something that still felt shocking.

Toushiro had mentioned the fact that she had changed, smiling and not showing much bitterness anymore. Perhaps it was, perhaps it was not; frankly it wouldn't matter how anyone would view his wife at all because he would love her all the same.

He smiled, as they continued to stare at the sunset and playing with the silver band on his finger, and embracing the consuming silence. The place, the time, and everything that surrounded him fit perfectly well with whatever picture he had seen in a dream so long ago. That dream, it had been so illusive and unknown, but it had turned true now.

The present was what mattered, though some of that past could easily be remembered despite the pain and sorrow that which had taken place back then. He remembered those dreams, the one with a family and children that were painted vividly in colour, and now they had come true. Everything was still like a dream, though not like he would eventually wake up from it, or that Toushiro would allow himself from waking up.

"You know," she spoke up suddenly, grabbing his hands and looking straight into his eyes.

"What?" He was curious now, but confused at the grin that it was growing in her face.

"Remember that time in which I told you that I had dreamed about a family, once?" Karin asked, trying hard to recall that dream herself. It wasn't really clear in her mind, though it was still there somewhere.

"I might, something about you dreaming about it once, and only once." Toushiro recalled, remembering the night that which they spent all night together after he had returned, but then having a terrible morning the following day. "I didn't particularly liked the following morning, Moscow."

She laughed loudly, remembering that made up story about her husband going to Moscow. "I remember that the girl from class 3-A was trying hard to figure out the truth, not that anyone would actually guess." Yeah, that had been some great morning back then. "Well, this is some of what I sort of had a dream about. Though, it had been almost completely a human life. Kind of confusing thinking about it now, but back then it hadn't been."

"Is that so. So, did it turn out better?" He brought his hand up, to caress her face.

"Mm…stop it. You're going to drive me insane." She put her hand on his, feeling it warm against her touch and welcoming. "Of course, never expected for me to have four children by this age--well if I were human still. Though, its more complete compare to my dream."

He smiled only for her, only the one special smile that which no one would see at all unless they would catch them by accident. She kissed him, pulling him close to her as they fell back against the floor. The night sky was now hanging above them like a curtain, the stars splashed across it to create that perfect scenery in only a dream.

If such dream actually existed, perhaps someone else could easily gain such dream as well. Though, a dream was sometimes only meant to stay a dream, mainly when such dream hadn't been thought about too much or even wanted. That was what had happen to Karin, never dreaming in her life about love, marriage, and family at all. Having being a teenager with a rough personality, rough exterior--no one would've thought about her becoming a family figure at all. In the end, the dream that which she had back then actually had come true, but with a whole lot more to it.

"I love you." She kissed him, as they laid in bed together.

The sun was coming from the horizon, another morning was to begin soon.

"I love you as well. I don't feel like going to work." He grumbled, pulling his wife closer to him and closing his eyes.

"Ha, never thought that the Hitsugaya Toushiro would actually want to miss work." She chuckled softly, but felt the same way.

"I have to put up with Miya, not something I'm looking forward to." Toushiro grimaced at mentioning that name, because it was nearly impossible to deal with the three year old girl.

"True, who would've thought that Kuchiki-taichou would re-marry." Karin opened her eyes, but her smile was still tugging on her lips. "Besides, Mika-san seems to have changed him, now that he smiles more often."

He nodded in response, reminding himself about the time that which he had seen the usual stoic man smiling softly at his daughter, who looked like him in some sense, but had the same spunky attitude as her mother. That was nice though, knowing that someone else could gain some happiness in time even if it came slowly. Much like the rest of the family friends, but they would find their own thing in time and with their own freedom.

"Kaa-chan, Tou-chan!!" Tadashi and Yoshiro entered the room. Matching smiles as the white haired twins jumped into the bed with their parents. "Good morning!"

Toushiro was knocked out of breath, as Tadashi jumped on top of him, but he smiled at his son nonetheless. Yoshiro snuggled besides Karin, smelling her hair and smiling widely as he hugged her tightly, but also stretching out his small arm for Toushiro to take.

"Energetic bunch, aren't they?" She chuckled softly.

"Wouldn't trade them for anything." He smiled at her, kissing Tadashi's head.

The sun was raising on the horizon, shinning brightly against the greenery scene around. The cloudless sky looked soothing for a long day, the cool breeze dancing across Soul Society as the Hitsugaya household had gotten loud with the arrival of the elder children, Tatsuya and Yuri, who picked up their younger brothers and spun the around. It was a picturesque life, and a greater future that would continue on…

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_How was that? I just wanted to give something to you guys for the reviews and the positive stuff that you said. It really made me proud knowing that this story was successful. My thanks still go out for happygirl24_, _Tsukihime nee, Watermelon Princess, Kida Ookami, and Moon Of Jupiter (who reviewed all of my chapters after I finished it). Well, this was my present to all of you. Hopefully it wasn't so sappy or anything, seeing that I've been dealing with a lot of drama, pressure, and all other stuff. So, yeah. I took a break and wrote this just for the lot of you. Thank you so much, and I promise that my next story will come out as soon as I feel great about the first chapter, storyline, and all the other good stuff. I've already done deleted 5 drafts 'cos I'm not content with the stuff I'm working on, though there's some inspiration floating around. Though, the title for it will be Red Moon Winter. No summary is available at the moment, plotline and everything is on the works. Thanks, and hoped you enjoyed this little epilogue. _


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